Lakers at Utah, Friday November 26^th 10:00 PM

EnergySolutions Arena, the home court of the Utah Jazz, has been called the toughest road game on the NBA schedule. This does not seem to be the case for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have made it a Spring-time tradition to silence the Utah crowd in the playoffs as they stomp all over the Mormons’ beloved Jazz. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant seems to make a point of quieting the non-alcoholic beer drinkers by decimating any defender Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan throws at him; Andrei Kirilenko, CJ Miles, whoever. Kobe famously air balled two shots against the Jazz in the playoffs during the early stages of his career and one would think that the “Mamba” remembers that failure every time he hangs 30 plus points on Utah. The Lakers will look to pick up where they left off on Friday night – attacking the grounded Jazz post players with their long, athletic duo of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol then letting Kobe take over if the game gets close. Jazz point guard Deron Williams has had an exceptional start to the season and should have no problem getting by the Lakers’ Steve Blake and Derek Fisher. However, if Lakers Coach Phil Jackson sees Williams taking advantage of the matchup at guard, expect the Zen master to give the assignment to defensive stopper Ron Artest in the fourth quarter.

Miami at Dallas, Saturday November 27^th 8:30 PM

In a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, the Heat will again try to build some semblance of team chemistry as they take on the Mavericks, who seem to be coming together perfectly. Dallas fans (Mark Cuban included) will surely be anxious to rain boos down upon Heat guard Dwayne Wade, who famously rode favourable treatment from the referees to clutch the Heat’s first championship and now struggles to find a rhythm with his new star teammates. Wade is shooting a ghastly %25 on shots outside of 10 feet this season and that poor shooting can be traced to his inability to build an on-court relationship with LeBron James. James and Wade are both ball-dominant players who are seemingly only effective when the entire offense is predicated on their individual talent. When either has the ball for the Heat, they tend to over-dribble while the other All-Star stands still. Miami forward Chris Bosh will be in tough trying to guard the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, who is once again enjoying an MVP-caliber campaign. Bosh is a terrible defender so Nowitzki should have his way with him and produce plenty of easy scores. The chemistry and defense of Dallas’ role players Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, DeShawn Stephenson and Caron Butler along with the strong point guard play of veteran Jason Kidd should give Miami a glimpse of the ingredients they are missing as they strive for championship contention.

San Antonio at New Orleans, Sunday November 28^th 3:00 PM

This game is a matchup of two of the top Western Conference teams, and more specifically, a clash between two lightning-quick point guards. New Orleans’ Chris Paul has performed like the league’s Most Valuable Player to start the season in sparking the Hornets to an 11-3 record. Paul is again controlling the pace of every game he plays in, pushing the tempo to provide his teammates with easy buckets, using his genius instincts to create turnovers on defense and scoring at will when he feels like his team needs him to. The charge of guarding Paul will fall on Spurs guard Tony Parker, fresh off news that his wife, actress Eva Longoria, filed for divorce and playing some of the best ball of his career. Parker is a speedster who is a master at finishing around the cup after turning on the jets. Paul is one of the few guards who can stay in front of Parker and Hornets’ swingman Trevor Ariza is good enough defensively to limit Manu Ginobili. Though Parker and Paul will be the headliners, this game will be decided in the post, where New Orleans big men David West and Emeka Okafor will battle with Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess. Paul has returned the energy to New Orleans and has brought his team into the playoff conversation but playing against veteran San Antonio, who are currently atop the NBA standings, will be a tough test.

College football betting players have watched the ACC struggle this year, but they should get a good show on the hardwood as the defending national champions from Duke continues to roll, but they’ll get some competition.

Duke- The Blue Devils might be better this year if point guard Kyrie Irving lives up to the hype. He’ll have returning seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith with him, along with Miles and Mason Plumlee. The X-factor may be Seth Curry, who lit up the country at Liberty a couple of years ago, and should provide some bench scoring.

North Carolina- The Tar Heels have all the talent in the world, and in Harrison Barnes, they could have next year’s No.1 pick in the draft. But Barnes can’t do it all on his own, and if the Tar Heels are going to push their bitter rivals from Duke for the conference crown, they have to stop turning the ball over.

Florida State- The darkhorse in this race, along with North Carolina State, the Seminoles have a chance because they consistently play great defense, and they have a beast of a player in Chris Singleton, who can play inside and out. Xavier Gibson is going to have to help down in the post as the Seminoles look to
replace Solomon Alabi. If Gibson can be a force down low, with their odds, you may be tempted to throw some down on Florida State in your sports book.

NHL Betting Odds – Trends For Friday’s Games

Those betting on NFL odds are always looking for trends and tips, and NHL betting players should be doing the same thing. Here are some tips ahead of Friday’s games on the ice.

Kings Sabres Betting – Friday, 7:30 PM ET

The Kings have lost two in a row ahead of a four-game road trip through the Northeast Division, starting in Buffalo where they are 1-4 in their last five trips since 2000. Three of the five games have gone over the posted total. The Sabres are a disappointing 2-6-1 at home this season, while the Kings are 4-4-0 away from home.

Wild Red Wings Betting – Sunday, 7:30 PM ET

The Wild will have a tough time cracking the Red Wings in Detroit: the Wings are 8-1-1 at Joe Louis Arena this season, while the Wild are 3-3-1 on the road. The Wild are also 1-4 in their last five trips to “Hockeytown” and four of those games have gone over the posted total. The Wild will be looking to extend a two-game winning streak, while the Red Wings have won four in a row.

Blackhawks Flames Betting – 9:00 PM ET

The slumping Flames have dropped three straight ahead of their visit from the Stanley Cup champions, who have won two in a row. The Blackhawks are 3-2 in their last five trips to Calgary, including the last three in which they’ve outscored the Flames 14-3. If you’re looking to take a team on the road, the Blackhawks should be your betting choice.

NFL betting players don’t really have to worry about goalies, although you may want to create comparisons to the free safety. It’s only early yet, but here are the top five goalies of the season so far.

Tim Thomas, Boston- The 36-year-old wasn’t even supposed to be the No.1 guy in Boston, but Tuukka Rask is struggling, and Thomas is 8-0-0 with a GAA of 1.39. His save percentage of .959 is the best in the NHL.

Jon Quick, Los Angeles- The 24-year-old is 9-1-0 so far and he’s been the backbone of a Los Angeles team that has some heavy expectations on them.

Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis- Halak joined St. Louis from Montreal and picked up right where he left off in last year’s playoffs, as he’s 8-2-2 with a GAA of 1.79 in his first games with the Blues.

Dwayne Roloson, New York Islanders- It’s easy to be a goalie on a good team, but the 41-year-old is doing everything he can to keep the Islanders from imploding, posting a 2.10 GAA despite a 2-6-1 record so far. Did we mention that he’s 41 years old?

Antero Niittymaki, San Jose- Niittymaki is another goalie on a new team, and the Sharks must be feeling pretty good of their decision to let Evgeni Nabokov go. Niittymaki is 6-1-2 with a 1.80 GAA so far this season, and if he continues to play well, San Jose may feel a bit better about their online sports betting odds this season.

While NFL betting players are gearing up for the second half of their season, the NHL betting season is only a month or so old, so there aren’t many changes in this season’s Stanley Cup odds right now.

Washington (+500) and Pittsburgh (+530) are still the favorites to lift the Cup, due to their star power. Alex Ovchekin and the Capitals are starting to find their goal-scoring form, which is a problem for the rest of the league, while Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are also getting their game together. The defending champions from Chicago (+800) haven’t missed a beat despite a number of changes to their roster in the offseason, while a veteran Detroit (+900) team is always lurking in the background, and they can never be counted out. Vancouver (+800) is also hanging around with the favorites.

Los Angeles (+1200), San Jose (+1200), and Boston (+1200) lead the second tier, and the Kings are dealing well with high expectations, as well as injuries. The Sharks, well, they’ve got too many playoff collapses under their belt for NHL betting players to take them seriously right now, but they’re still extremely talented and can’t be counted. The Bruins are powered by a rock-solid defense, and Tim Thomas has gotten off to a fantastic start between the pipes as he’s wrestled the No.1 spot away from Tuukka Rask. Still, until they can prove that they can consistently score, the Bruins will be on the outside looking in on the sports betting favorites.

Two of the best teams in America butt heads on Saturday in a contest that could help either Utah or TCU become a rare non-BCS entry in the NCAA title game. The 2010-11 college football season has seen a host of non-BCS schools dominate the weekly polls, and the Utes and the Horned Frogs represent some of the best that the smaller conferences have to offer. While TCU is largely considered the better team heading into Saturday’s matchup, the Frogs will have to account for a raucous partisan crowd in Salt Lake City as well as some discouraging history: TCU has yet to record a victory in the school’s three trips to Utah.

Both teams are undefeated and sport identical 5-0 records in Mountain West play. However, neither team has faced more than one ranked squad this season. TCU beat then 24^th-ranked Oregon State in their season opener, while Utah won against then-15^th Pittsburgh in overtime in their opener as well. Neither squad has faced a significant challenge since their first games, so Saturday will be a good test to see if their place in the college football standings actually warrants their current rankings.

TCU is coming off a 48-8 drubbing of UNLV, in which quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a pair of scores en route to 252 total yards. Dalton has been quietly spectacular for the Frogs in his senior season, compiling a 158.67 passer rating and improving in nearly all statistical categories. Against Baylor earlier in the year, Dalton completed 21 out of 23 passes, setting a TCU single-game record for completion percentage at 91 percent. However, TCU’s offence is hardly what has allowed them to win 22 straight regular season games. The Frog’s defence has been exceptional by any standards this season; they lead the nation in points allowed with a ridiculous 8.7 on average.

TCU might have a much more difficult time stopping Utah from piling up a double-digit football score, as the Utes have been averaging an astounding 45.3 points per game, third best in the nation. The Frogs’ offensive efficiency can be credited largely to quarterback Jordan Wynn’s improvements in his sophomore season-the 20-year-old is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes this season, en route to a 162.41 passer rating. However, Utah’s running back duo of Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide have placed pressure on opposing run defences all year, sharing the carrying load for 15 total touchdowns between the two players.

In a clash of opposing strengths, it will be interesting to see which team makes the bigger adjustments. If Utah can score early against the Frogs’vaunted defence and ride the momentum of the crowd, TCU will have to battle to stay afloat. For both teams, Saturday’s game is the biggest of the season, but is also a chance to prove to the BCS schools and organizers that teams from the smaller conferences deserve their fair share of national attention. Whichever team prevails this weekend could end up having a legitimate shot at the BCS national title game in Glendale, Arizona.

NCAA football betting players are heading into Week 9 of the season, and these Heisman candidates have pulled away from the field.

Cam Newton, Auburn

Newton has already set the SEC record for rushing yards by a quarterback, and he still has four games left. He can also pass better than you think as he ranks third in the nation in quarterback rating. And for those who said Newton didn’t do much against a good defense, he saved his best showing of the season for LSU, romping for 217 yards. If the Tigers win the national title, he’ll win this running away, literally.

LaMichael James, Oregon

The shifty running back is at the heart of the nation’s most explosive offense, and he ranks fifth in the country in rushing. The problem with James is that he may be overshadowed in an offense with a lot of weapons, although he has bounced back admirably from a troubled offseason.

Kellen Moore, Boise State

Moore edges out Michigan’s Denard Robinson because his team has a better record, and we’re also willing to bet that Boise State would be Michigan straight up. Moore leads the country in passer rating, and he has 18 touchdowns to two picks. However, like his Broncos, Moore faces skeptical voters who say Boise State hasn’t played anyone, therefore, padding his stats. Moore’s success is tied to his team’s fortunes, because we think Newton can still win even if Auburn doesn’t win it all. Moore is still worth a darkhorse bet, though.