Richards lifts Rangers over Lightning in OT
Hockey Betting Lines
02/09/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Richards scored 2:37 into overtime, lifting the New York Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle also scored for the Rangers, who have won three of their last four, while Martin Biron made three of his 14 saves in the third period.
Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier and Bruno Gervais had goals for Tampa Bay, which has lost three of its last four. Mathieu Garon gave up four goals on 31 shots.
Richards scored on New York's first shot of overtime after Michael Del Zotto took the puck from a Lightning player on the right side and passed to Artem Anisimov in the slot.
Anisimov slid a pass low to Richards on the right side, who slapped the puck in as he fell to the ice.
Earlier, Boyle tied the game midway through the third period on a quick shot from the left side.
The Rangers were coming off a 1-0 loss to Martin Brodeur and the Devils on Tuesday, which ended in controversy when a potential game-tying goal with 3.5 seconds left was waived off because Marian Gaborik crashed into the net and was called for interference, although it appeared he had been pushed.
They have 73 points, leading the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, but had to come back after giving up a 2-1 lead.
Stamkos scored the only goal of the first period, skating in behind two defensemen and sneaking a backhand past Biron with 64 seconds left to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Callahan's power play goal on a tipped shot and Stepan's spinning shot off his own rebound in the slot made it 2-1 Rangers 5:27 into the second period. But Lecavalier scored just 21 seconds later and Gervais made it 3-2 on a power play at the 12:26 mark.
Lecavalier banked a shot in off a Rangers player who was in the crease behind Biron, and Gervais was left wide open in the slot for a wrister.
Game Notes
The Rangers have won two of their three meetings this season, but Tampa Bay is 5-2 in the last seven...New York went 2-1 on a three-game homestand and will play at Philadelphia on Saturday...Tampa Bay started a three-game road trip that wraps up with games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - And then there were none. Murray State, the last undefeated NCAA Division I team, fell to Tennessee State, 72-68, on Thursday. The ninth-ranked Racers (23-1, 11-1 OVC) had already clinched the best s
<< Stars jump on Jackets early, hold on
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn opened and closed the scoring,
including an empty-netter in the final second, as Dallas downed Columbus, 4-2.
Stephane Robidas' goal was the final of three in the first 21-plus minutes,
and
<< Clemmensen, Panthers beat Kings for first time in almost a decade
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen made 22 saves as the Florida
Panthers earned their first win over the Los Angeles Kings in nearly 10 years
with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.
Sean Bergenheim, Mike Santorelli and Matt Bradl
<< Jets rally late, beat Capitals in shootout
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Little scored the game-winner in a
shootout, as the Jets used a late surge to earn a 3-2 comeback win over the
Capitals on Thursday.
Trailing 2-0 with less than three minutes to play, Winnip
<< Blues down Devils in shootout
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout
to give the Blues a 4-3 victory over the Devils at Prudential Center.
Brian Elliot relieved an ineffective Jaroslav Halak in the second period and
stopped all
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Spezza netted two goals and added an assist, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Place. Chris Phillips -- playing in his 1,000th NHL game -- contribu
Indiana pulls away from Illinois >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Zeller dropped a game-high 22 points
to lead four Hoosiers in double figures as Indiana rolled past Illinois,
84-71, at Assembly Hall on Thursday.
Christian Watford, Victor Oladipo, and Jorda
Canucks keep Wild reeling >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Sedin played two days after taking a
puck off his ankle and scored a goal, and the Vancouver Canucks rolled to a
5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an a
Rockets use strong bench effort to down Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola scored 16 points and the Rockets,
aided by a strong bench effort, downed the Suns, 96-89, on Thursday.
All five Houston bench players who entered the game reached double figures,
led by Patric
Detroit shocks unbeaten Green Bay >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay hadn't lost since a setback last
February to Detroit.
On Thursday night, history repeated itself.
Shareta Brown scored 24 points and Senee Shearer added 23, as the Detroit
Titans ended
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.