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02/18/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars are hoping to break out of a small slump this evening in Phoenix. The Coyotes have been anything but a struggling team this month.
The Coyotes look to extend a season-high seven-game point streak this evening versus the Stars, having gone 6-0-1 over that time. Having notched a possible 13 of 14 points in February has Phoenix tied with Los Angeles for the seventh spot in the Western Conference, two ahead of ninth-place Calgary. The Coyotes also sit four points behind the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division.
After a shootout loss to Vancouver on Monday snapped a five-game win streak, Phoenix rebounded on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles. Mike Smith made 28 saves for his second straight shutout, fourth of the season and 15th of his career.
Smith, who was rested on Monday in favor of backup Jason LaBarbera, had logged 38 saves to blank the Blackhawks last Saturday and has won a career-high six straight games. He hasn't lost since Jan. 31 and brings a consecutive shutout streak of 138 minutes and 49 seconds into tonight's contest.
"This was a whole team effort and we're finding a way to win," said Smith. "The last few minutes were frantic, but I thought we handled it pretty good."
Radim Vrbata had the lone goal on Thursday for the Coyotes, who have won four straight at home. They could be without Rostisalv Klesla tonight after he suffered an upper-body injury versus the Kings. Derek Morris (illness) and Taylor Pyatt (upper body) are also questionable.
The Stars come into this meeting four points behind the Coyotes and Kings in the standings. They snapped a three-game slide with Thursday's 3-2 overtime triumph against the visiting Flames.
After getting regulation goals from Adam Burish and Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro scored the winner in overtime at the 2:01 mark.
"For us, I mean the points are so ridiculously close right now," said Ott. "What a sick individual play by Mike Ribeiro to cap off a big goal."
The Stars were able to gut out a win despite losing leading scorer Jamie Benn to a leg laceration in the second period. Benn has a team-high 49 points, including 17 goals.
"It's a pretty decent-size cut," said Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan. "He's just going to be day-to-day. There's a possibility he could play, probably not [Saturday] in Phoenix, but maybe here on Sunday [versus Nashville]."
Defenseman Sheldon Souray, meanwhile, has missed the past four with a bruised foot, while fellow blueliner and pending free agent Nicklas Grossman was dealt to Philadelphia on Thursday for a pair of draft picks: A second-rounder in 2012 and a third-round selection the following year.
The Coyotes are 2-0-2 versus the Stars this season, winning two straight after a pair of shootout losses. Phoenix is 6-1-2 in the past nine encounters overall.
<< With an eye on first place, Capitals visit Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals picked up a much-needed win over
the Southeast Division leaders last night. Another victory against a division
rival this evening would next land them a share of first place.
The Caps hope to avoid
<< Moving on up: Hurricanes try to stay hot against Islanders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Their longest point streak of the season has the Hurricanes
on the verge of getting out of the Eastern Conference basement. Avoiding a
season series sweep this evening at the hands of the Islanders could also have
the team th
<< Blues play host to sliding Wild
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to continue their home success
when they host the sliding Minnesota Wild in today's matinee battle at
Scottrade Center.
The Blues have been nearly unbeatable on home ice all season long, postin
<< Blackhawks hope to stay on track vs. Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have put their longest losing streak
in over five years behind them and will try to record consecutive wins when
they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets today at Nationwide Arena.
The Blackhawks were on
Del Potro thumps Berdych to reach Rotterdam final >>
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina
advanced to the title match at the ABN AMRO World tournament after a thorough
beating of Tomas Berdych in the first of Saturday's semifinals.
The third-seeded d
Hawks take their swings at Blazers in Rip City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will resume their five-game road trip in
Rip City tonight against the struggling Portland Trail Blazers.
After opening their trek with a loss to the Lakers, the Hawks rebounded by
winning a 101-99
Grizzlies welcome Warriors to FedEx Forum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies barely escaped with a victory last
night versus Denver after blowing a commanding 23-point lead, and now look to
extend their winning streak to four games when the Golden State Warriors take
a walk
Bulls, Nets collide in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even if reigning MVP Derrick Rose is unable to go today
for the Chicago Bulls, the current Central Division leaders still have a
decent shot at topping the New Jersey Nets at the United Center.
Rose has missed f
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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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.
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