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02/16/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.
The big news during the game came when the Flyers traded coveted center Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for right wing Scottie Upshall, defenseman Ryan Parent and a first and third round draft pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft.
"Peter Forsberg is one of the NHL's most complete players and the ultimate competitor - a consistent winner who has year in and year out been a difference maker in the Stanley Cup playoffs," said Nashville vice president and general manager David Poile. "He strengthens our club up the middle and will provide another battle-tested, veteran voice to our dressing room."
Forsberg skated with the team in practice Thursday in preparation for the home game against Toronto, but was listed as a healthy scratch just before the start.
"This is a deal, we didn't want to do it, he knows we didn't want to do it, but at the end of the day we had to do it," said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, who added Forsberg was noncommittal at returning to the team if he becomes a free agent after this season.
Jeff O'Neill, Nik Antropov and Carlo Colaiacovo each scored a goal for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a three-game slide. Andrew Raycroft made 34 saves in the win.
Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist while Mike Knuble added a goal for the Flyers, who had won their previous two games.
Michael Leighton started in net for Philadelphia but was pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots. Antero Niittymaki finished in net and made 19 saves.
The Maple Leafs were all over the Flyers in the first period and took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
Just 6:39 in, Matt Stajan sent a turnaround pass from the top of the left circle to the slot and from the right circle O'Neill snapped a wrister in between the pads of Leighton.
A little over two minutes later on the power play, Antropov completed a 2-on-1 rush when his wrist shot from the right circle beat Leighton again through the five-hole.
With 5:50 left in the first period, Colaiacovo's wrist shot from the slot beat Leighton and chased the goaltender from the net.
The Flyers got one back in the second period when, while skating on the power play, Alexei Zhitnik sent a pass from the high slot to the right side where Gagne gathered the puck and flicked a wrister over the right shoulder of Raycroft to make it a 3-1 game with 7:50 left in the middle frame.
Sundin gave the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead with 8:14 left in the game when his wrist shot from the right circle went over the glove of Niittymaki.
Philadelphia got a goal back when, skating on the power play, Jeff Carter grabbed a loose puck behind the net and sent it to the low right circle where Knuble one-timed it between the pads of Raycroft with 5:14 to play.
Forsberg will now join the top team in the Western Conference, although he has been battling injuries all season as he has missed 16 games. He had a procedure done on his right foot this past May and also had two bursas removed. He was originally scheduled to have surgery on both his feet, but learned surgery on his left foot was not necessary. Forsberg returned in time to appear in the Flyers starting lineup for their first game of the season.
However, since then he had a right ankle problem that forced him to miss four consecutive games in December. Forsberg returned to the Flyers lineup on December 16 at Washington, but promptly suffered a concussion and missed the next three games. He has also sat out several games as he has had constant problems finding a skate that would comfortably fit his right foot.
"I was playing this year and some games I didn't know if I was going on the ice," Forsberg said. "That's how bad my foot didn't fit in the skate. It's tough to play hockey."
Despite this, the Flyers wanted Forsberg to re-sign before his two-year contract was to expire at the end of this season. However, Forsberg didn't give the Flyers a long-term commitment.
"We've gone round and round with Peter the last fair amount of time, making a commitment to us for future years," Holmgren said. "Due to Peter's uncertainty, he could not and would not do that moving forward. It was our belief in the long run, for the betterment of the franchise, for the future, this is something we needed to do."
Game Notes
Toronto returns home to face Edmonton on Saturday...The Flyers play the Rangers in New York on Saturday afternoon...Gagne has a four-game goal streak with six tallies during the run...The Flyers went 2-for-7 on the power play while Toronto scored on one of its six attempts...Gagne has 30 goals on the season, his third time he has reached that plateau in his career.
<< Harrington shoots 63 to grab early lead at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ireland's Padraig Harrington fired an
eight-under-par 63 Thursday to grab a three-stroke lead at the Nissan Open at
Riviera Country Club.
Six players were left on the course as play was suspende
<< Blue Raiders snatch Sun Belt title
Murfreesboro, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chrissy Givens had 17 points and nine
rebounds to lead No. 17 Middle Tennessee State past Florida International,
66-59, at the Murphy Center.
Amber Holt netted 15 while Krystle Horton added 12
<< Teague leads Boilermakers past Indiana
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Teague had a career-high 32
points, including 6-of-8 from long distance, and grabbed seven rebounds, as
the Purdue Boilermakers bested the 24th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers, 81-68, in the
190th m
<< 24th-ranked Spartans topple Wildcats
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victoria Lucas-Perry had 25 points and
six rebounds to lead the 24th-ranked Michigan State Spartans past the
Northwestern Wildcats, 68-63, at the Breslin Center.
Allyssa DeHaan added 12 poin
Briere's OT goal boosts Buffalo over Edmonton >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Briere scored the winning goal 1:02
into overtime, as the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres got their
fourth consecutive victory by beating the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, at HSBC Arena.
With
Colonials win 15th straight, snap Charlotte's 22-game home streak >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jessica Adair scored 14 points to go along
with 14 rebounds, as eighth-ranked George Washington slipped past Charlotte,
64-59, ending the 49ers' 22-game winning streak on their homecourt.
Sarah-Jo Lawre
Robitaille powers Islanders past Bruins >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Robitaille scored twice to lead the
New York Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum.
Mike Sillinger posted a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who have won two
straight
No. 4 Buckeyes rout Badgers >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jessica Davenport's 19 points and eight
rebounds led the way as fourth-ranked Ohio State badgered Wisconsin, 83-57 at
Value City Arena.
Ashlee Trebilcock posted 15 points and three steals for the Bu
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
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