When it comes to NBA scores betting on Thursday night, look no further than one of the hottest teams in the association when placing your money, as the Orlando Magic look to extend their win streak at home against the New York Knicks. While the Knicks were considered a legitimate dark horse in the conference a couple of weeks ago, they have fallen off over the past 14 days and have yet to beat any of the top dogs in the conference. Meanwhile, after experiencing a big of a transition period to adjust after a couple of blockbuster deals, the Magic are hitting their stride.

Orlando has won four straight to move back in to an online sports betting tie with the Atlanta Hawks for second spot in the Southeast division, and have improved with every game since the acquisitions of Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu. They have the depth and scoring touch from beyond the arc to compliment the interior presence of All Star center Dwight Howard, and that will only continue to get stronger as they gain experience together. The Knicks are an impressive 10-6 on the road this year, but are a combined 0-5 against the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Atlanta Hawks, and until they step up and take down one of the big dogs in the conference they cannot be considered anything more than a second-tier team. Take the Magic over the Knicks.

Online NHL betting players will get back on the horse on Sunday, when the action on the ice resumes, and here are three games to keep an eye on.

Lightning Thrashers Betting (Sunday, 7:00 PM ET)

The Thrashers should be favored at home in this matchup of two of the NHL’s biggest surprises, and they’re 2-3 SU in their last five games at home against the Lightning. Four of the five meetings have gone over the posted total, and this one could as well as both are in the top 10 in terms of goals scored.

Penguins Senators Betting (Sunday, 7:30 PM ET)

The Penguins will likely be favored on the road in Ottawa, where they are 4-1 SU in their last five trips to Canada’s national capital. Four of the five meetings have also gone over the posted total, and Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby will be looking to extend his point streak to 24 games in this Eastern Conference clash.

Ducks Kings Betting (Sunday, 9:00 PM ET)

The Kings should be favored at home in this California (and Pacific Division) showdown on Boxing Day, and they’re 3-2 SU in their last five games at the Staples Center against the Ducks. Two of the games have gone over the posted total, and the Kings are second in the league in goals against. The Kings are just one point ahead of the Ducks in the crowded Pacific Division, and there will be a lot at stake in your online sportsbook as well.

Key Matchup: Bears’ Front Seven vs. Jets’ Offensive Line

Chicago is giving up just under 90 yards per game on the ground, good for third best in the league, while the Jets are 6^th in the NFL with 141 rushing yards per game. The Bears have an athletic front line, led by ends Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije, big players who have the speed to chase ball carriers on the edge and the strength to break through the line to blow up running plays. Chicago also has a pair of pro bowl linebackers in Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher who will relentlessly pursue running backs and plug any holes that might appear. The interior of the New York offensive line has been spectacular this year in opening spaces for backs Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson. Guards Brandon Moore and Matt Slauson are powerful downfield blockers who can use their athleticism to pull to the outside or continue blocks downfield. The two large men flank center Nick Mangold, who is widely considered among the league’s best at that crucial position. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson has fantastic footwork for a 6’6 310 lb man and he will need to quick on his feet to take care of Peppers who is a nightmare matchup in the trenches.

Most Important Player: Mark Sanchez

Sanchez responded to the backlash that followed consecutive poor performances against New England and Miami with a gutsy win on the road at Pittsburgh. Much of the criticism that was aimed at the second year starter concerned his inability to win games in cold weather, after playing his entire high school and college career in California. Sanchez proved capable, if unspectacular against the Steelers in frigid conditions and will have the chance to win another icy road game against the Bears at Soldier Field. The Jets have a fantastic defense and a strong running game, so when Sanchez is playing well they are nearly unstoppable. The Bears play a cover 2 zone defense and do so with some of the best personnel in the league, so nothing will come
easy. If Sanchez can hold on to the football and find receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards for key gains andscores when they are needed, the Jets should earn their eleventh win and sit in prime position in the NFL standings.

Need To Know: Rex Ryan’s Foot Fetish

The Jets Head Coach usually has a lot to say in the buildup to his team’s next game on theNFL schedule , but this week Rex has been exceptionally quiet. That can be attributed to the discovery that Ryan and his wife have been posting foot fetish videos on the internet, with Ryan’s wife as the star and the corpulent coach as cameraman. Ryan has deemed the videos “a personal matter” that he will not discuss, and while that is completely fair, the news is just another controversy added to the already complex Jets season. Whether or not the coach’s sexual interests become a distraction is yet to be seen, but the Bears will certainly be loaded with plenty of trash-talk material for Sunday’s game.

Even those doing college football betting online have to keep track of the Lakers during hoops season, and the defending champions are featured in two of our three games to watch this weekend.

Lakers 76ers Betting – Friday, 7:00 PM ET

The Lakers will likely be favored in the city where Kobe Bryant grew up, and they’re 3-2 SU and ATS in their last five trips to the City of Brotherly Love. The Lakers are 4-1 on this current six-game road trip through the East, but the 76ers have won three straight and five of their last six overall.

Clippers Bulls Betting – Saturday, 8:00 PM ET

The Bulls should be favored at home against the Clippers, who are actually 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five trips to the Windy City. This will be the second half of a back-to-back for the Clippers, who had lost four in a row heading into Friday’s game in Detroit, while the Bulls have been off since beating Toronto on Wednesday for their seventh straight win. Chicago’s Joakim Noah is out 8-10 weeks after hand surgery, so watch out for Clippers’ rookie Blake Griffin.

Lakers Raptors Betting – Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The Lakers will be favored as they wrap up this road trip against the team he dropped 81 points on in 2006, and both have Saturday off after Friday games, so they should be rested for this early Sunday start. The Lakers are 3-2 SU and 2-1-2 in their last five trips to the great white north, and the Raptors usually push them to the limit, so beware of the online sports betting odds.

Those doing college football betting online should start getting into the hoops scene as the football season I almost over, and here are a few tips to get you started.

Head-To-Head History

The head-to-head is crucial to look at, especially in conference play as a lot of teams are familiar with each other. Try to stay away from non-conference matchups as a lot of teams just schedule others to boost their strength-of-schedule, meaning there isn’t much history to draw information from.

Experience

It’s tough to look at experience in the college game of the one-and-dones, but it’s a huge factor because experienced players know how to deal with pressure situations. For example, the defending champions from Duke weren’t ranked high because of freshman guard Kyrie Irving (who is now hurt), but because of returning seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Also, look at what an experienced West Virginia team did to a Kentucky unit that had four freshmen drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.

Coaching

This is similar to experience, in that the best coaches don’t really change much over time. Everyone counted out UConn, but with Jim Calhoun still leading the way, the Huskies are in the top 10. The same goes for teams like Michigan State (Tom Izzo), Duke (Mike Krzyzewski), Syracuse (Jim Boeheim), and on and on. College kids are much easier to coach than professionals, and they trust their coaches to no end. Take a look at that before making your betting picks.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ 2009-10 season was harshly ended by back-to-back defeats at the hands of their arch-rival; the Dallas Cowboys. In the inaugural year of Jerry Jones’ colossal masterpiece Texas Stadium, the Eagles were beaten into the home turf, being shutout in the final game of the regular season then blown out 34-14 in the wildcard playoff game. The embarrassing defeats meant the end of Donovan McNabb’s lengthy tenure as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback and the start of something so spectacular, so beyond prediction, that it would have seemed laughable as the Eagles’ green jerseys mutedly filed out of the NFL’s version of the Death Star. With the NFL schedule now entering its final month and the Cowboys long eliminated from the playoff picture, Philadelphia has a chance to solidify themselves as a Super Bowl contender and deliver a vengeful blow to Dallas.

If the Cowboys knew that chasing after and hammering McNabb so effectively would have ushered in the Michael Vick era in Philadelphia they surely would have lightened their pursuit. Vick has not only replaced McNabb, he’s done so with the kind of explosive success Donovan had not experienced in years.Vick has returned from his prison sentence and exile as a dog fighting pariah to lead one of the league’s most explosive offenses. The electric pivot is using his rifle left-arm and fleet feet to produce an excessive number of scores for the Eagles while limiting the mistakes and turnovers that hampered him in the early part of his career. Vick instantly elevated the Eagles to the top of the NFC East in the NFL standings with his play and could be rewarded with the league’s MVP award at season’s end.The quarterback’s fantastic play has energized the franchise and city and at the same time has dominated the national sports conversation. The Cowboys have also come up frequently in discussion, for less desirable reasons. Dallas has floundered away a season in which they were meant to compete for the Super Bowl at their home Texas Stadium. Head Coach Wade Phillips has been fired and although interim Coach Jason Garrett has prompted the ‘Boys to two straight victories, the team has lost quarterback Tony Romo and rookie sensation Dez Bryant to season-ending injuries. In short; this has been the season from hell for Dallas.

With several divisional games left on the NFL schedule, the Cowboys have a chance to play spoiler to their Eastern rivals. The top of that “hate list” would be Philly, who seem to represent the antithesis of Dallas football; liberal, creative and consistent. Dallas felt as if they had finally wrestled the division crown when they obliterated the Eagles last year, but now they find themselves again looking up to a potent Philly squad and their All-pro quarterback, albeit a new, All-pro quarterback. The ‘Boys will be in tough against the Eagles, who are being inspired by Head Coach Andy Reid to play their best football down the stretch. Jon Kitna, who has been forced to start in place of Romo, will have the blitzing Eagles defense breathing down his neck all game long, so don’t be surprised to see the veteran make more than a few errors. On defense, DeMarcus Ware and the rest of the Cowboys will have trouble, like the rest of the league, halting Vick and his blazing receivers; DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Expect Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy to be the most productive player on the field however – McCoy has quietly been one of the NFL’s top running backs this season. When two teams that hate one another meet with opposite records, things can get ugly. Reid hasn’t forgotten the laughing faces of Jones and George W. Bush looking down from a Texas Stadium box and now he’s back with a brand new weapon. Revenge is a beautiful thing.

• Old Dominion

After upsetting Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament last year, the Monarchs will attempt to recreate the same magic in this year’s madness.A series of tough wins against the likes of Clemson, Xavier and Saint Peter’s in the early season Paradise Jam tournament puts the team in a strong position for an entry to the tournament and coach Blaine Taylor has to be excited about how close his team played Georgetown in their season opener before falling 62-59. Old Dom is led by post player Frank Hassell and a duo of 6’5 swingmen, Kent Bazemore and Ben Finney. The Monarchs had their most impressive win on the NCAA basketball schedule against Richmond on December 1^st, beating a team that had already defeated two top-25 teams; Purdue and Virginia Tech.

• Cleveland State

The Cleveland State Vikings’ bid for the NCAA tournament relies on the play of their star guard, Norris Cole. Cole, a 6’2 senior, is averaging 21.5 points per game and is the primary ball handler for Gary Waters’ squad. Cleveland State is always a tough out in the tournament and Cole should give fits to any early round opponent.

• North Texas

The NCAA basketball standings show the Mean Green sitting at the top of the Sun Belt Conference’s West division and with remaining fixtures against potential tournament teams Sam Houston State and LSU, North Texas could find themselves with a mid to low seed come March. The Mean Green is one of the nation’s better offensive teams, averaging 80 points per game. A fourth of that offense comes from 6’5 senior guard Tristan Thompson who is averaging 21 per on his own. Thompson, who should not be concerned with Texas’ Toronto-born forward of the same name, is a slashing scorer and a brilliant on ball defender as well.

• North Carolina

Surprised to see the Tar Heels listed as an underdog? At 4-3, Coach Roy Williams would be thankful to get even a 16 seed in the tournament. The Heels have had a tough start, but if they can put some wins together in their conference schedule (maybe an upset of archrival no. 1 Duke at home?) and make a run in the ACC tournament, they could earn a late berth. No team wants to see a ticked off North Carolina that features preseason All-American freshman Harrison Barnes in the first round, no matter how overhyped they may have been coming in. At this point it looks unlikely, but if Barnes learns how to create scores we could be looking at the best 12-seed ever.

Those betting on NCAA football are all about momentum, and it’s the same on the ice, and we’ll tell you who to ride with and who to avoid this week.

Hot – Pittsburgh

The Penguins have surged to the top of the Atlantic Division on the back of a seven-game winning streak, and Sidney Crosby has recorded at least a point in his last 13 games ahead of a visit from Atlanta on Thursday night. The Penguins have three of their next four games at home, where they’ve struggled a bit, but now that they’re on a roll they should be favored there. After Atlanta, the Penguins head to Columbus before New Jersey and Toronto head to Pittsburgh.

Cold – Toronto

It’s really not that much of a stretch to say, “don’t bet on Toronto”, but the Maple Leafs have lost three in a row ahead of a visit from Edmonton, then they host a good Boston team on Saturday night. After that, it gets even tougher for the Maple Leafs, who are just terrible on the road, and they’ll find themselves in Washington and Pittsburgh next week before hosting Philadelphia on Thursday. The Maple Leafs can’t do anything right on the road, especially with the man advantage. The losses aren’t even the fault of goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who has kept the Maple Leafs in some games. His defense makes brutal mistakes (the Leafs lead the league in giveaways), and we’re not even sure a return from captain Dion Phaneuf will improve their betting odds.