Lombardi, Boyd help Flames burn Habs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2009 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi and Dustin Boyd scored short- handed goals during the pivotal second period, as the Calgary Flames beat the Canadiens, 6-2, sending Montreal to its eighth loss in 10 games.

Dion Phaneuf scored the go-ahead goal just 32 seconds after Lombardi tied it, as the Flames snapped a season-high four-game skid. Rene Bourque, Mike Cammalleri and David Moss also lit the lamp, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 shots. Lombardi finished with a goal and two assists.

Matt D'Agostini and Tomas Plekanec had first-period goals for the Canadiens, who have lost their last three contests, having been outscored 14-6 during that span. Jaroslav Halak had 35 saves for Montreal in the opener of a six- game road trip.

Down 2-1 to start the second period, the Flames were energized thanks to spectacular short-handed play and 20 shots in the middle period. Bourque was called for interference for banging into Halak, but Lombardi scored at 11:36 on a breakaway, tucking a backhander past the netminder.

A short time later, Phaneuf scored on a shot from the slot through a screen, and Kiprusoff kept the game tied with two minutes left in the second when he made a great sprawling pad stop on Andrei Kostitsyn.

Boyd made it 4-2 with another short-handed goal, this one with 1:17 remaining in the period, another breakaway, for his first goal in 16 games. The goal came with Robyn Regehr in the penalty box for kneeing.

It became 5-2 at 6:57 of the third. Lombardi sent the puck from the left corner toward the slot, where it bounced off Cammalleri before Bourque mopped up with the rebound for his 18th goal of the season.

Moss accounted for the final margin with a power play score at 11:51 of the third.

D'Agostini scored on a snap shot from the right circle 10:17 into the opening period, but the Flames tied it less than three minutes later on Cammalleri's 28th goal of the season when he redirected a dribbling puck in front of the net.

Plekanec's goal, with 1:19 remaining in the first, came off a 2-on-1 break. Alex Kovalev sent a pass from the left circle to below the right one for the goal as Kiprusoff was out of position.

Game Notes

The Canadiens will visit Edmonton on Wednesday, while Calgary's next contest is the same night at Anaheim...Montreal has lost six in a row on the road...The Canadiens were 0-for-4 on the power play, while Calgary was 1-for-5...Roman Hamrlik had two assists for Montreal.

Horseraxing Hockey Betting News


<< Without All-Stars, Hornets get upended by Grizzlies
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie star O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the undermanned New Orleans Hornets, 85-80, in a poor shooting display at the FedEx Forum. Mike Conley

<< Defending champion Almagro has tough first-round win in Brazil
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain had a rough first-round match, but got by Brazilian wild card Ricardo Hocevar, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 on Monday at the $562,500 Brasil Open. The top-seeded Alm

<< Sessions, Bucks snap slide against Rockets
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Sessions led a balanced scoring attack with 26 points to go with seven assists, leading Milwaukee to a 124-112 victory over Houston and snapping the Bucks' eight-game losing streak against the Roc

<< No. 8 UNC pulls away late to rout fourth-ranked Duke
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashanda McCants scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 8 North Carolina past fourth-ranked Duke, 75-60, at the Smith Center. Jessica Breland chipped in 14

<< Clemmensen, Devils blank Rangers
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves to record his first shutout in nearly five years and the third of his career, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the slumping New York Rangers, 3-0, in an Atlantic Divisio

Mizzou edges Kansas on last-second shot >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zaire Taylor hit the game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds left to help 17th-ranked Missouri deal No. 16 Kansas its first conference loss of the season with a 62-60 victory over the Jayhawks. Taylor finis

Boston University wins Beanpot >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Bonino, David Warsofsky and Colin Wilson scored short-handed and Boston University won the 57th annual Beanpot tournament Monday night with a 5-2 triumph over Northeastern. Colby Cohen and Jas

Stepanek avoids upset; moves into second round in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek avoided a huge upset Monday, but rallied to beat German qualifier Dominik Meffert, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round at the $600,000 SAP Open, the first American stop on the

Tigers take on Eagles in Chestnut Hill >>
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two ACC squads trying to get back in the win column hook up at the Conte Forum tonight, as the Boston College Eagles entertain the 12th-ranked Clemson Tigers in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were in play just

Top-25 foes meet in Big East clash >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Villanova Wildcats will try to continue their run tonight, as they host the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in a Big East battle at the Pavilion. The Wildcats have clawed their way back fr

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.