Caps try for rare win against Sharks

Hockey Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals found themselves leading the Southeast Division a week ago, but consecutive losses have them outside of the playoff picture once again.

The Caps look to avoid losing three straight for the first time in over two months this evening and yet another setback to the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks, who are going though their own struggles as they try to hold onto first place.

Washington moved a point past Florida for the division lead with a 4-0 win over the Panthers last Tuesday, but consecutive defeats to Winnipeg (in a shootout) and the New York Rangers have dropped the Capitals four points behind the Panthers for that top spot.

Even worse, Washington sits ninth overall in the Eastern Conference, a point behind Toronto.

After earning a point versus the Jets last Thursday, the Capitals were edged by the Rangers 3-2 yesterday. The game-winning goal for New York came early in the third on Brandon Prust's short-handed tally.

John Carlson had a goal and an assist for Washington and Alexander Semin also scored. Semin has four points in his past three games, while Alex Ovechkin has five in that span.

Michal Neuvirth made 25 saves for the Capitals, who are 3-4-3 in their past 10 games and will try to avoid dropping three in a row for the first time since a four-game slide from Nov. 25-Dec. 1.

"The shorthanded one was the critical goal," said Capitals head coach Dale Hunter. "That was the big one where we gave up a shorty and it ended up being a game-winner."

Washington hasn't had too many game-winning goals when facing San Jose. The Sharks posted a 5-2 win over the visiting Capitals on Jan. 7, handing Washington its fourth straight loss in this series and 15th in the past 16 encounters.

San Jose, which has won seven of its past eight at Washington, got the game- winning goal from Patrick Marleau to go along with two assists, while Dan Boyle added three helpers as 10 Sharks skaters logged a point. Antti Niemi made 28 saves.

Dennis Wideman and Joel Ward had the goals for the Capitals and Tomas Vokoun was touched for four goals on 38 shots.

Tonight's meeting should once again feature some firepower as no skaters in the league have more points in the NHL since the 2005-06 season than Ovechkin and the Sharks' Joe Thornton. Ovechkin is tops with 657 points since his rookie season, while Thornton is second in that time with 627.

Thornton and his teammates were shut down by the Blues on Sunday, dropping a 3-0 decision after failing to get any of their 25 shots past St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak. The Sharks lost for the third time in four games, getting blanked for the fifth time this season, but still lead the Kings by a point for the lead in the Pacific Division.

Niemi allowed a pair of goals on 27 shots, with both goals against coming with the Sharks skating on a two-man disadvantage.

"I liked our start," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "We played the right kind of game at least for the first 10 minutes until we took the three penalties. After that, they got a little momentum back and started to play their game."

San Jose also went 0-for-4 on the power play as it lost the opener of a season-long nine-game road trip. It was the Sharks' fifth loss in their past six road games overall.

Logan Couture had his career-high eight-game point streak end with the shutout loss. The Sharks forward had logged five goals and seven helpers over his run.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

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