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04/06/2007 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Backstrom made 22 saves, recording his second consecutive shutout and fifth of the season as the Minnesota Wild blanked the Edmonton Oilers, 3-0, at XCel Energy Center.
Mark Parrish, Keith Carney and Marian Gaborik all scored for Minnesota, which has already clinched a playoff berth, but sits in seventh place in the Western Conference. The team could earn a top three seed by winning the Northwest division, and with two games remaining are just one point behind Vancouver, which can clinch the division title with a win over Colorado on Thursday night.
Jussi Markkanen finished with 26 saves for Edmonton, which has dropped six straight games, and nine in a row on the road. The Oilers have lost 18 of 19 since February 25.
"Obviously it's tough to get yourself going for 100 percent when you're absolutely out of the playoff race," said Markkanen. "At the same time it tells a lot abpit the character of this locker room. We put the effort in, but obviously we haven't (gotten) any of the results, but at least the effort is there."
The Wild opened the scoring 5:57 into the first period, as Mikko Koivu moved along the right side-boards before sending a pass to Parrish in the high slot. Parrish then one-timed a shot through the five-hole past Markkanen to make it 1-0.
Minnesota doubled its lead with 1:09 left in the first, as Carney created a turnover at the blueline, then went on a breakaway toward the net in the middle of an Edmonton line change. The defenseman wristed a beautiful shot low on the blocker side that got past Markkanen to make it 2-0.
Gaborik made it 3-0 in the middle stanza when Wes Walz sent a pass through the neutral zone and put it right on the blade of Gaborik's stick. The right winger moved in on the breakaway, deking out Markkanen before lighting the lamp on the backhand shot at 9:58.
The Oilers managed seven shots in the third period, but could not solve Backstrom.
"I think we got lucky at times," said Parrish. "We started getting a little fancy and getting away from our game a little bit, but it's nice when it seems like every time that happens, Nik (Backstrom) stands tall for us and doesn't give the other team a chance to get any life going. We've got one more game to perfect that and get all those kinks out of our system, and get back to playing the hockey we were a week-and-a-half to two weeks ago."
Game Notes
The Wild have won five straight over the Oilers, and are 12-4-0 against them since the start of last season. Minnesota has outscored Edmonton 17-2 during the five-game winning streak...Gaborik has recorded a point in 12 of his last 13 games, registering seven goals and 11 assists in that span. He has seven goals and four assists in seven games against the Oilers this season... Edmonton concludes its season against Calgary on Sunday.
<< Islanders stay alive with win over Leafs
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Blake scored the go-ahead goal 3:46
into the third period and the New York Islanders kept their slim playoff hopes
alive with a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nassau Coliseum.
Aaron Asham and M
<< Brodeur sets record on championship night for Devils
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur used 34 saves to break the
all-time mark for wins in a single season and Jim Dowd scored the short-handed
game-winner midway through the third period, as the New Jersey Devils clinched
the Atl
<< Sabres rally to top Bruins
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Vanek scored twice and also notched an
assist as the Sabres doubled up the Boston Bruins, 4-2, in Buffalo's home
finale at HSBC Arena.
Derek Roy had a goal and one assist and Ales Kotalik als
<< Blueshirts lock up playoff spot
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist and
Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves as the New York Rangers clinched a playoff
berth with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.
Petr Pr
Legwand lifts Predators over Blues >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Legwand scored a pair of goals as the
Nashville Predators downed the St. Louis Blues, 4-1, at Nashville Arena.
Alexander Radulov and Peter Forsberg each had a goal for the Predators, who
snapped a
Boston College, Michigan State to meet in final >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Gerbe had two goals and two assists
as the Boston College Eagles reached the championship game by defeating the
North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 6-4, in the Frozen Four.
Boston College will next due bat
Nash's OT goal lifts Blue Jackets past Stars >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Nash scored just 64 seconds into overtime
to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars at
Nationwide Arena.
Nash fought off a checker along the right wall, grabbed the pu
Rice basketball player dies in stabbing >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Bailey, a walk-on member of the Rice
basketball team, was killed Thursday morning.
The Houston Chronicle reports Bailey, who turned 22 on Wednesday, was stabbed
to death after a confrontation at
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.
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