12/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to halt a five-game losing streak in Minnesota, where they play the Wild tonight at Xcel Energy Center.
The Avalanche haven't won in Minnesota since a 2-1 shootout victory on January 6, 2007. The Wild's success over the Avalanche hasn't been limited to just St. Paul either, as they have won six of their last nine overall versus Colorado.
Colorado lost a 3-1 home decision to the Wild back on November 6. Peter Budaj allowed three goals on 20 shots, as the Avs played without Joe Sakic on that day.
Sakic has missed eight of Colorado's last 11 games due to a lingering back issue. He returned to the lineup on Friday against the Coyotes, but didn't play much and then sat out Saturday's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay. Sakic did not accompany Colorado to Minnesota and is out indefinitely.
The Avalanche scored three first-period goals versus the Lightning on Saturday, getting two from Wojtek Wolski and one from Jordan Leopold. David Jones added what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the third frame.
Marek Svatos had three assists in the win to match a career-high for points in a game for Colorado, which also placed defenseman Adam Foote on injured reserve on Saturday due to back and knee issues.
Budaj was given the day off on Saturday, with Andrew Raycroft making just his second appearance of November. Raycroft made 17 saves for his first win since October 18. Budaj should be back in net tonight, as he is 6-7-2 with a 2.80 goals against average lifetime against the Wild.
Colorado begins a three-game road trip tonight and is 5-7-0 as the visiting team this year. The club has lost three of its last four on the road.
Like Budaj, Minnesota starting netminder Niklas Backstrom was given the night off Saturday and should start tonight. Backstrom is 8-1-1 with a 1.96 GAA in 10 starts versus Colorado and made 35 saves in beating the Avs earlier this year.
Josh Harding was in net on Saturday and was backed by a franchise-record tying five power-play goals in a 6-2 win over Nashville. Harding made 25 saves in his second start of the season.
Mikko Koivu scored twice, once on the power play, and had an assist, while Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Andrew Brunette, Owen Nolan, and Craig Weller all scored on the man advantage.
Minnesota is now second in the NHL on the power play at 24 percent (24- for-100).
Brunette added two assists in Saturday's win, with Antti Miettinen chipping in with three helpers for Minnesota, which has won two straight and three of its last four games.
The Wild, one point back of first-place Vancouver in the Northwest Division, is 7-4-1 at home this year and kicks off a three-game residency tonight.
<< Canucks try to rebound with test in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to avoid a third straight
loss when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for tonight's battle at
Nationwide Arena.
The Canucks had won four in a row before being swept in a home-and-home seri
<< Sabres host Predators in western New York
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will aim for their third win in four
games when they welcome the Nashville Predators for this evening's contest at
HSBC Arena.
The Sabres ended a five-game losing streak with consecutive victories over
<< Espanyol lets go of manager Marquez
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Espanyol have sacked coach Bartolome
Marquez after a 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijon left the club facing a relegation
battle at the wrong end of the La Liga table.
Marquez's side have won just three o
<< Leonardi admits crisis at Udinese
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese's general director Pietro Leonardi has
admitted that the club have slumped into a mini crisis, having lost their last
four games in Serie A.
A 1-0 home defeat by Chievo added to the pressure at the
Red Bull announces 2009 driver, crew chief lineup >>
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull Racing set its 2009 Sprint Cup
Series roster Monday with Ryan Pemberton serving as Brian Vickers' new crew
chief and Jimmy Elledge guiding Scott Speed as he runs for rookie of the year
honors.
Kiffin introduced as coach of Vols >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee made it official
Monday and formally introduced Lane Kiffin as the 21st head football coach in
school history.
"I met with all of our players last night and they are definitely
Sale of Curlin disallowed >>
Frankfort, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The acquisition of the remaining 20-percent
interest in 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin by his majority owner has been
rejected by a Kentucky judge. The decision by Judge Roger Crittenden was made
Monday.
All-Conference Pioneer League Team Announced >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville, the PFL regular-season
champion, saw freshman quarterback Josh McGregor pick up the league's Freshman
Offensive Player of the Year award while head coach Kerwin Bell was named the
league's Coach of
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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