Sport Betting Overview

Few teams were more disappointed to see the All-Star break than the Pittsburgh Penguins. After being hit hard by injuries that caused the Penguins to nose dive in the Eastern Conference standings, the Penguins found itself on a seven-game winning streak that the All-Star break effectively stopped in its tracks. While some sports fans in Pittsburgh were hoping to have a hometown interest in this year’s Super Bowl betting, others were wondering how the Penguins would do without superstar Sidney Crosby. Aside from that stretch of games that the Penguins just could not seem to win, Pittsburgh has shown that it can win without Crosby in the regular season. A Crosby-less Pittsburgh team did not fare so well in last year’s playoffs, but at least the team made the post-season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the toast of the Northeastern Division for the first part of the season. Toronto was battling with the Boston Bruins for division supremacy until the Bruins pulled away and the Leafs started to tumble. The price per head sportsbook experts were extremely surprised by the Leafs’ start and are even more surprised to learn that goaltender Jonas Gustavsson had wrestled the starting goalie spot from James Reimer. Nothing ever seems to be consistent in Toronto and the landscape is always changing. But as long as the Leafs keep winning, the fans do not mind needing a program to determine who is on the ice and starting the game.

Pittsburgh Penguins

A 5 dimes review of the Penguins’ season to this point shows a roller coaster ride that has seen extreme highs and lows. The team thought it was back on track when Sidney Crosby was able to come back around Christmas, but that was short-lived as Crosby was out again within 12 games and he has not returned. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was also having issues for a stretch of games that saw him give up goals he does not normally give up. But the team has hung together and worked through the problems. After losing three consecutive games earlier in January, the Pens went on a 7-0-0 run to bring its record up to 7-3-0 in the last 10 games.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs have a two-game winning streak of its own going, but a record of 6-4-0 in the last 10 games shows that Toronto is having problems with consistency. The Leafs keep jumping back and forth between starting goaltenders which does not give the defense a chance to settle in to any kind of comfortable routine. The Leafs are a talented team that plays hard. But it will need to get back to the things that worked earlier in the season if it wants to make the playoffs.

The Bottom Line

Toronto and Pittsburgh were just starting to turn things back around when the All-Star break stopped them. The Penguins are the most likely to be able to pick up again and keep winning, but the Leafs won’t make it easy.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins

Sports Betting Overview

It would be a mistake to underestimate the Detroit Red Wings just because a game happens to be played outside of Joe Louis Arena. At home, the Red Wings have won 17 straight games and are approaching the all-time consecutive home win record of 20 posted by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers. Since the Superbowl betting in Detroit lost its luster when the Lions got knocked out of the playoffs, the sports attention of Detroit has been turned to the Red Wings. The Red Wings have had competitive teams for many years, but none of the recent teams has even approached the level of regular season success that this team is enjoying.

The Montreal Canadiens are the only team in the Eastern Conference with a losing home record at 8-9-7. Even the last place Buffalo Sabres have a home record of 11-9-5. Montreal’s problems at home and on the road have been well-documented, and the variety of solutions the front office has employed to get the team going have been mystifying. From trading a player in the middle of a game to firing an assistant coach for seemingly no reason during the morning skate, the price per head bookie experts are wondering if the Montreal Canadiens have the know-how and ability to pull themselves out of this slide it is in. As always, the pressure to win in Montreal is intense. But things get much worse when bad decisions are being made.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings have lost only two games at home all season long, but it has lost 13 games on the road. The Red Wings are clinging to a 13-13-0 road record and trying desperately to make sure that the Western Conference playoffs have to go through Detroit for all of the rounds. The Red Wings do not want to have to rely on winning road games to win the Stanley Cup. A 5 dimes review of the stats for the regular season so far show that the Detroit Red Wings have a +48 in goal differential this season, which is second in the league behind Boston’s +71. Detroit has a balanced attack and plays a solid game. It just needs to learn how to translate that to road games.

Montreal Canadiens

When the wheels started coming off of the Montreal Canadiens’ train, it was a complete loss of wheels. Everyone from the head coach to the goaltender could not seem to do anything right. When the Canadiens brought in new head coach Randy Cunneyworth, he was criticized by the local Montreal media for not being able to speak French. It is a said and degenerative condition that pervades the Montreal Canadiens. The team needs to be completely re-tooled and the current front office may not be qualified to do that.

The Bottom Line

The Red Wings need a win on the road to boost its confidence and the Montreal Canadiens need a complete overhaul. This does not look like it will be a good night for the Montreal Canadiens in front of its home fans.

Pick: Detroit Red Wings

NHL Pay Head News: Original Six Clash Closes Out Shortened Week

An Original Six showdown between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday will highlight a shortened week in the NHL. While the Red Wings are flying high at the top of the Western conference, the Canadiens are barely alive in the Eastern conference and fighting for something to hold on to. If Montreal is going to have any chance at turning their season around they will need to go on an extended run, and stringing together consecutive wins against Original Six opponents before the All Star break is a good place to start.

NBA Betting News: Lakers, Clippers Meet For Second Time Wednesday

The battle of Los Angeles has heated up in recent weeks with the Clippers emerging in the Western conference ahead of the Lakers, and with the two set to meet for a second time this Wednesday, it should get a ton of attention. Kobe Bryant’s 42 points weren’t enough for the Lakers in the first meeting between these teams, a 102-94 win for the Clippers, and Bryant will need his teammates to step up in a major way if they are going to have a chance to win the second meeting. A couple of other intriguing matchups for this week include the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics meeting for the second time this week on Thursday, and the New York Knicks heading to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat Friday.

Super Bowl Odds News: Patriots, Giants Rest With Pro Bowl Sunday Upon Us

While all of the coverage will be focused on a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, there will be over 100 of the most talented NFL players gathering in Honolulu, Hawaii for the 2012 Pro Bowl this Sunday. The Patriots and Giants will use this week to rest and get some practice in after New England opened up as three-point favorites for the biggest game of the year, and other than something noteworthy happening a those practices the line shouldn’t change much as weather conditions will not have an effect on the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. There should be more prop bets made available as the week progresses.

College Basketball Betting News: Tar Heels Host Wolfpack For In-State Showdown

The ACC schedule will feature an in-state showdown between the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels and North Carolina State Wolfpack on Thursday as two of the four one-loss teams in the conference meet for the first time this season. The Tar Heels bounced back from a devastating loss to the Florida State Seminoles with a win over Virginia Tech, but they lost Donald Strickland in that game with a torn ACL, and he will be out for the remainder of the season. North Carolina has the depth to push forward without him, and should be a good test for a Wolfpack team that has yet to play any of the other top four teams in the ACC.

Your favorite MMA blog will probably have some picks for Saturday’s UFC show on FX, the first for the company, but we’re here to explain why the odds look the way that they do. Here is a look at the main card.

Pat Barry (10-4) vs. Christian Morecraft (9-2) – Heavyweight

Barry is favored at -165 at BetOnline, while Morecraft comes in at +145 in a meeting of two heavyweights looking to avoid a pink slip; Barry has lost three of his last four, while Morecraft has dropped two of his last three. The odds are indicative of these two being very close on the UFC scale and it’ll probably be a short fight as well as Barry’s three losses as of late have come by KO or submissions (twice), while Morecraft has been knocked out twice.

Mike Easton (11-1) vs. Jared Papazian (14-6) – Bantamweight

Easton comes into this match as a -340 favorite, while Papazian is rated at +285 and players that use price per head sports services would likely chalk up these odds to the fact that it is Papazian’s UFC debut, while Easton has his debut in the octagon in October, even though it was his first fight in two years. This will be a huge step up in competition for Papazian, and sportsbooks are skeptical because he has only really fought in the lower levels of mixed martial arts, but that also makes him a dangerous underdog.

Duane Ludwig (21-11) vs. Josh Neer (32-10-1) – Welterweight

This is a close match to call for linesmakers, much like this weekend’s Super Bowl odds think it’ll be a tight game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. Ludwig is rated at -105, while Neer is listed at -115, and Neer is slightly favored because of a five-match winning streak, including his return to the UFC in October. Ludwig has won two in a row, both by decisions, while all five during Neer’s streak have come via stoppage (including four TKOs). The winner will likely get a shot on a pay-per-view in the near future.

Melvin Guillard (29-9-2, 1 NC) vs. Jim Miller (20-3) – Lightweight

The main event features two fighters looking to move up in a loaded 155-pound division, with Miller favored at -170 and Guillard comes in at +150. You would have to give Miller the edge simply based on styles; Miller is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with two “Submission of the Night” honors, while eight of Guillard’s nine losses have come via submission. Guillard is extremely explosive, but he can also be overconfident, which cost him dearly against Joe Lauzon in October. However, with his striking power, Guillard is a dangerous underdog in your online betting book.

Online Betting Overview

The Montreal Canadiens are having a very strange season. Earlier in the year, the Canadiens used one of its assistant coaches as a scapegoat and fired him during the morning skate. Then the Canadiens fired head coach Jacques Martin and replaced him with Randy Cunneyworth. The pay per head sportsbook experts in Montreal ignored the Canadiens’ desperate need for a better direction and focused solely on the fact that Cunneyworth could not speak French. That seemed like a big deal to the Montreal press. Then the Canadiens’ traded Mike Cammalleri in the second intermission of a game and pulled him from the locker room. Strange things are going on in Montreal.

The Capitals have not had an easier time this year. The Washington management tried to pin the team’s lack of success on head coach Bruce Boudreau and fired Boudreau earlier in the season. The problem is that rookie head coach Dale Hunter is not having any more success with the team than Boudreau did. But the sports bookie software is starting to notice a change in the Capitals that has not occurred with the Canadiens. Despite all of the personnel moves that Montreal has made, the Canadiens are still floundering in the basement of the Northeast Division. The Washington Capitals, on the other hand, is only one point out of first place in the Southeast Division.

Montreal Canadiens

The overriding problem in Montreal is not the coaching, even though the coaching staff has been taking the fall for the issues the team has been facing. A sportsbook.com review of the Canadiens’ roster shows small forwards and slow defensemen. Cammalleri was not traded because it made the team better, he was traded because he spoke out against the way the team was playing. Randy Cunneyworth is not going to have any success in Montreal so long as the Montreal front office remains more focused on the team’s image than the product on the ice. Goaltender Carey Price is struggling and the Canadiens cannot score goals. You need more than good coaching to solve those problems.

Washington Capitals

The Caps have suddenly come to life and seem to be responding to Dale Hunter’s system. In the last 10 games, Washington has gone 7-3-0 and that includes a three-game winning streak. But the Capitals are still being victimized by inconsistent goaltending. Tomas Vokoun was supposed to wrestle the starting job away from youngster Michal Neuvirth. Every time it seems like Vokoun has himself under control, he stumbles and Neuvirth needs to come in to save the day. That is something that the Capitals have seen before and it has hindered the team’s playoff success.

The Bottom Line

For all of its problems, the Washington Capitals are at least showing a glimmer of hope. The glimmer in Montreal is being clouded by insignificant bickering and decisions made based on emotion as opposed to what is best for the team.

Pick: Washington Capitals

It’s no BetOnline scam if you find your sportsbook to be hoops-heavy this week as basketball takes over the landscape until the NFL playoffs resume on the weekend. The Los Angeles Lakers will bookend the week, while a state rivalry brews in college hoops and a few interesting storylines converge in New York.

Monday – Mavericks Lakers Odds, 10:30 PM ET

Lamar Odom returns to Los Angeles after a messy offseason split with the Lakers, and some sportsbook.com reviews will point out that this is the first meeting for the two since the Mavericks steamrolled the Lakers in a sweep en route to the title. Kobe Bryant has scored 40 points or more in four straight games, so the Mavericks have to figure out a way to slow down the Lakers’ superstar.

Tuesday – Michigan State Michigan Odds, 7:00 PM ET

These two may have been looking forward to this game as the Spartans lost at Northwestern, while the Wolverines were stunned at Iowa. Still, players that work with sportsbook software should check out this rivalry game as the Big Ten is up for grabs; Ohio State isn’t running away with the conference like most people expected, so not only are bragging rights on the line, but a chance to move up in the Big Ten as well.

Wednesday – Suns Knicks Odds, 7:30 PM ET

This matchup is interesting because New York coach Mike D’Antoni is under fire due to his team’s ineffectiveness, and he is also a former coach of the Suns. Phoenix’s Steve Nash is probably the only player in the league that could help the Knicks out of their funk as New York is falling out of favor with those that work with price per head sports software.

Thursday – Lakers Heat Odds, 8:00 PM ET

The game of the week comes from Miami, where there will be a slew of stars on the court, even though the Heat could be without the injured Dwyane Wade. It’s always an occasion when Bryant and the Heat’s LeBron James are on the court at the same time, and this will be advertised as a possible NBA Finals preview.

Friday – Lakers Magic Odds, 8:00 PM ET

Finally, the Lakers end a tough week in Orlando, where the storyline will surround Dwight Howard. The big center has been rumored to be on his way to Los Angeles for a while now, but the Magic held fast with their trade demands and now Howard is reportedly off the table, although we’re they could be talked into a deal if the Lakers made an offer. The matchup in the middle between Howard and the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum should decide this sport betting contest.

NBA fans, particularly those of the Los Angeles Lakers, will get their fill in a busy week as there are at least three games that you should check out, along with a rivalry game from the college ranks and a midweek NHL matchup between two floundering teams.

Monday

Mavericks Lakers Odds (10:30 PM ET): This will be the first time that the two clubs meet since Dallas swept the Lakers in humiliating fashion in last year’s playoffs. A BetOnline.com review would also tell you that it’s Lamar Odom’s return to Los Angeles after being traded in the offseason, so there is just one more subplot between these Western Conference rivals. Also, it’s the final game in a busy slate on Mart Luther King Day.

Tuesday

Michigan State Michigan Odds (7:00 PM ET): Neither team is being given much of a chance on the national stage according to those that work with price per head sportsbook services, but in the Big Ten they have a shot as the conference seems to be wide open. The Spartans weren’t even in the preseason top 25, yet find themselves at No.6 heading into the weekend, while the Wolverines are holding at No.13.

Wednesday

Capitals Canadiens Odds (7:30 PM ET): Washington was thought to be a Stanley Cup favorite by players that use price per head software, but they’re hanging onto the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as of Friday. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have fired their coach and traded arguably the best player, and along with the language issue that surrounds their head coach, these aren’t good times to be a Montreal Canadien fan.

Thursday

Lakers Heat Odds (8:00 PM ET): There isn’t much that needs to be said about this massive showdown; the Heat host the Lakers and there will be a ton of star power on the court with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh suiting up for Miami, while Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will try to power the Lakers in the first game of the TNT doubleheader.

Friday

Lakers Magic Odds (8:00 PM ET): The Lakers then turn around and head to Orlando to face the Magic, who spent the offseason warding off their advances for center Dwight Howard, who is a free agent after the season and many feel he’ll end up in Los Angeles. Chances are, the Lakers would have to part with Bynum, who has been playing very well as of late, but he has a tendency to get hurt (and that is being generous). The center position will be a point of interest and a definite talking point in this matchup when you bet on sports on Thursday.

Sports Betting Overview

When the 2011-2012 NHL season started, the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers had high hopes. The Ducks were coming off an extremely successful season where the team made the playoffs and finished with 99 points in the standings. But with losses of key players and the mysterious decline of goaltender Jonas Hiller, the Ducks have plummeted to the bottom of the Pacific Division. The team fired its coach and brought in Bruce Boudreau and things improved for a couple of weeks. But when the honeymoon was over, the team sunk right back into the tank. Nothing seems to be going right in Anaheim, and there doesn’t appear to be any signs of it getting any better.

The Edmonton Oilers and its fans did not know what to expect this season. The pay per head sportsbook experts placed the Oilers at the bottom of the Western Conference in preseason polls. But the experts were shocked when the Oilers came flying out of the gate and started to rocket to the top of the Western Conference. After about a month, reality set in again and the Oilers started its climb back down the standings. Edmonton is that frustrating mixture of very young and veteran players that cannot seem to gel together. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin started out with fantastic numbers, but then his performance fell off and the team followed him down the standings.

Anaheim Ducks

The price per head sports experts are wondering what has happened to Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller. In 35 games played this year, Hiller is 10-17-6. He is facing a lot of shots and that is causing his goals against average to balloon and his save percentage to drop. The Ducks need to put a defense around Hiller or else this season will be lost. There is only so much that Bruce Boudreau, or any coach, can do with a roster that is thin on defense. The Ducks are 4-5-1 in the last 10 games, but that does include a three-game winning streak. The team is hoping to extend that streak with this road game. The problem is that Anaheim is 3-10-5 on the road and not playing very good hockey away from home.

Edmonton Oilers

When the Edmonton Oilers crashed this season, it happened on the road. The Oilers are 6-16-1 away from home, which means that the World Juniors tournament that caused the Oilers to have to go on an extended road trip really hurt this young team. A sportsbook.com review of the season also shows that the team is missing the production of rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has been injured on and off all season long. The goaltending in Edmonton is failing the team and the Oilers have gone 2-7-1 in the last 10 games as a result.

The Bottom Line

The NHL fans in Edmonton support their team no matter what. When Edmonton came bursting out of the gate at the beginning of the season, the fans were loving it. The fans did not get to see much of the collapse because it happened on the road. Edmonton is hoping to get its groove back with this home game.

Pick: Edmonton Oilers

Online Betting Overview

Those simultaneous hissing noises you hear coming from Washington, DC and Pittsburgh, PA are the air being let out of the Capitals’ and Penguins’ seasons. The Penguins used to be resilient. It used to be that Pittsburgh could at least be competitive without its captain Sidney Crosby. But the price per head bookie experts have watched the Penguins fall from the top of the Atlantic Division to fourth place. One of the more distressing thing for Penguins’ fans is that Pittsburgh is holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by only one point. A little more stumbling and the Penguins could find itself on the outside looking in.

It has become extremely obvious by now that firing Bruce Boudreau as head coach of the Washington Capitals was not the answer to improving the team. The price per head sports experts would also like to point out that replacing Boudreau with rookie NHL head coach Dale Hunter was an even worse move. Hunter never had any leadership qualities when he was a player and that lack of leadership is spilling over into his head coaching style. The Capitals are afloat in a sea of mediocrity and it is hard to tell what can bring the team out of it. Even winning a couple of games last week did not seem to help. When things like this happen, fans look first at the coach and then the captain. The coach has been replaced, and team captain Alex Ovechkin is getting more and more disinterested by the day.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are still playing hard every night and it could just be going through a stretch where nothing is going right. A 5 dimes review of the Penguins’ last 10 games shows a record of 4-6-0. But that stretch includes a four-game losing streak where the Penguins cannot seem to do anything right. The fans in Pittsburgh need to be patient as Pittsburgh is only 10 points out of first place in the division. If there is a team in the NHL that has the capability to suddenly go on an extended winning streak, then that team would be the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Washington Capitals

For the first time in a very long time, the Washington Capitals have allowed more goals than it has scored. The other very noticeable attribute of the Capitals’ 2011-2012 record is that the NHL scores the Capitals are logging on the road are terrible. The Capitals are 7-12-1 on the road, but the team is 14-5-1 at home. The Capitals come into this game on a two-game losing streak and it is just one of many losing streaks the Caps have been on since Dale Hunter took over.

The Bottom Line

The Pittsburgh Penguins have shown an ability to fight back all season long despite long odds against them. The Washington Capitals have displayed signs of giving up at several points in the season. The goaltending with Tomas Vokoun has not panned out as it was supposed to and the Caps are not scoring. There is much more wrong with the Caps than just questionable coaching.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL Betting News: Injuries Take Away From Penguins, Capitals Rivalry

The outlook for this week’s rivalry game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals won’t have nearly the same fierceness to it with a handful of notable stars missing from the visitor side. Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang remain out as they continue to battle concussion-like symptoms, with Jordan Staal and James Neal joining that group of injured players this past weekend. Despite the injuries the Penguins are still holding on to a playoff position in the Eastern conference in eighth place, while the Capitals are currently on the outside looking in from tenth. However, Washington can close the two-point gap between these teams with a win on Wednesday, as they continue to look for an identity under new head coach Dale Hunter.

NBA Pay Head News: Heat, Clippers Set To Explode Wednesday

While the talent assembled in South Beach remains one of the most interesting stories in the NBA today, the Los Angeles Clippers have broken through with a solid assembly of their own talent, as the additions of Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups have transformed them in to a legitimate contender. Paul is averaging over 15 points per game and close to 10 assists, while consistently making the highlight reel with some huge connections with Blake Griffin. Billups meanwhile is second only to Griffin in team scoring, and has been a calming influence on both sides of the floor. While it is still far too early to call a visit from the Miami Heat a preview of this year’s NBA finals, there should be a ton of explosive plays when Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh join Griffin, Paul, and Billups on the court.

College Basketball Betting News: Orange Attempt To Extend Undefeated Run Wednesday

After knocking off one of their toughest opponents so far this season in No. 20 Marquette on Saturday night, the top-ranked Syracuse Orange will have three days to prepare for their next game, as they travel to play the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday. Villanova has just one win through its first four Big East games, and is .500 overall on the year, while Kris Joseph and the Orange have put together four straight wins to open the Big East portion of their schedule, and 17 straight overall. Meanwhile, the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats travel to Auburn on Wednesday in an SEC showdown, one day after the No. 5 Baylor Bears look to extend a perfect season of their own against No. 22 Kansas State.

Golf Betonline News: PGA Tour Lands In Hawaii This Thursday

The PGA Tour season will continue this Thursday in Honolulu, at the Waialae Country Club as Mark Wilson looks to defend his title. Steve Stricker looked good heading in to the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, with Webb Simpson not far behind, and both should be on hand and among the favorites with the $5.5 million purse up for grabs.