Preakness betting players don't have to worry about a tournaments-style format, as they're one race and out. The NBA is down to their version of the Final Four, and there is something for everyone (unless you're a LeBron James fan). Boston vs Orlando The last two Eastern Conference champions will face off with the Magic taking homecourt advantage. The Magic are favored at -260 after winning three of four against the Celtics during the regular season, including both games in Boston. The Celtics will be out to avenge their exit at the hands of the Magic in the second round of last year's playoffs, and they'll be boosted by their fantastic performance against James and Cleveland, who had the NBA's best record. Meanwhile, the Magic are 8-0 in the playoffs, and are coming off a historic blowout four-game sweep of Atlanta. Phoenix vs Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers are favored at -320, but it's the Suns that have won their last two playoff meetings with the defending NBA champions, taking the Lakers out in the first round in 2006 and 2007. Since then, the Lakers have won nine of their last 12 against the Suns, including three of four during the regular season. Both are coming off impressive sweeps over tough opponents (Los Angeles over Utah, Phoenix over San Antonio), and the rest is a good thing for both teams, especially former MVPs Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Check the totals before making your sports bet for this game, as they have gone over the posted total in half of their last 10 meetings. |
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The sports betting SEO community (not the betting search engine optimization guys) has been following the Flyers-Bruins series - and the betting - very closely. It has reached a fever pitch as Philadelphia has come back from an 0-3 deficit to tie the series up at three games apiece, setting the stage for a massive Game 7 showdown in Boston. Can they overcome the odds? The Flyers edged the Bruins 2-1 on Wednesday to send the series back to Beantown for the deciding game, and now they have a chance to become just the third team in NHL playoff history to come back from an 0-3 hole. The first came in 1942, when Toronto stunned Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals, and then in 1975, the New York Islanders came back to do it against Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs. The New York Rangers battled back to tie their semifinal series with Boston in 1939, but ended up losing Game 7 in double overtime. So it's not very likely, but given the way that Philadelphia has been playing, it's definitely possible. The Bruins are favored at -125 in this critical Game 7, and they've scored just one goal in the last two games. The Flyers replaced the injured Brian Boucher in goal with Michael Leighton, and he played extremely well in the Flyers' 2-1 win, and they also got a massive performance from captain Mike Richards, who had a goal and an assist, as well as a couple of big shot blocks. The defense has also played very well in front of the goalie, keeping the Bruins at one shot, and then getting rid of the rebound. An upset by Philadelphia on Friday isn't out of the question, not by a longshot. We see these types of upsets on the football odds and online horse racing betting all the time. |
Nicklas Lidstrom Considering Retirement One of the best defensemen to have ever played in the NHL may have played his final game. After being eliminated by the San Jose Shark, Lidstrom, at 40 years old, is thinking it may be time to hang up the skates. While he is still one of the premier players in the league, he is visibly past his prime playing years. It will be very tough for Detroit to replace a guy like that, if he does end up retiring. Salo May Be Lost For Game 6 Sami Salo, one of Vancouver's most important defensemen, may be out for game six after suffering an injury from blocking a shot. The puck appeared to hit him in the mid section as he fell to the ice and lay in pain for a long time. He was later taken to hospital for further observation. It will be a major blow to Vancouver's comeback efforts if he is not able to return and will certain affect NHL betting odds. Super Monday Suffering from the Monday blues? Shake it off and look forward to a big NHL night. The Flyers and Canadiens are facing elimination in two games that will be hard-fought affairs. A win by Pittsburgh and Boston would propel both teams to face each other in the conference finals. Both Boston and Pittsburgh are online betting favorites to closeout the series tonight. Remember Cooke's hit that sidelined Savard with a severe concussion? There is certainly no love lost between these two teams. Will this incident affect how the teams approach the series? Does Boston have a freebie cheap shot to collect or will cooler heads prevail? Pending what seem to be the inevitable outcomes of the conference semifinals, these two teams look set on a collision course in the conference finals. |
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Are Long Layoffs Between Playoff Series A Bad Thing? The Orlando Magic proved critics wrong as they were able to easily thwart the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of round two 114 - 71. By blowing out the Hawks by 43 points, the Magic led by 'Superman' Dwight Howard, proved that a long layoff between opponents was not necessarily a bad thing. The layoff was a result of the Magic defeating the Charlotte Bobcats in four straight games, eight days ago on April 26 by a score of 97-90. With such dominance over their last five games the Magic appear to be getting stronger. While the Celtics and Cavaliers look to be headed in a long grueling second round matchup, there is no reason to believe that the Magic do not have the best NBA Championship Odds. Great Pitching Leading to Great Results for Padres The San Diego Padres pitching staff led by ace Kevin Correia is second in the major leagues to the St. Louis Cardinals for top staffs. The strong pitching has allowed for the Padres to go 17 and 10 leading the National League West division. If the Padres can continue this early season surge, fans can begin to get their hopes up when participating in MLB betting online. Padres fans initially had reason to fear the worst for the next few years with their ball club after management traded away staff ace Jake Peavey to the Chicago White Sox of the American League. However, replacing Peavey was the key signing of former White Sox staff ace John Garland who many expected to be the ace of an inexperienced pitching staff in San Diego. With the emergence of Kevin Correia this early in the season, and the Padres sitting in second overall for all pitching staffs in the entire MLB, fans can see the light in a tunnel that appeared pitch black last year. |
While UFC 113, a fight card which boasts a rematch between challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and champion Lyoto Machida is still weeks away, sportsbook betting lines have started to come out, and there is some intriguing action to be found. In particular, Patrick Cote is being listed as a pretty significant underdog by many oddsmakers across the board. Cote is returning to action after a long layoff following surgery to repair a torn meniscus and ACL. The fighter has not competed since he suffered the injury in a bout against champion Anderson Silva at UFC 90 in October of 2008. Cote suffered the career-threatening knee injury at the start of the third round in his fight against Silva. Up to that point he had been unable to deliver an effective offense, but had avoided most of the champion's offense as well. Against Belcher, he faces a formidable Muai Thai specialist who trains under Duke Roufus. Belcher has been hot and cold in the UFC, but mostly hot, nabbing upset wins over ATT products Denis Kang and Wilson Gouveia recently. Some lines have Belcher as a prohibitive favorite, and these lines should be exploited by savvy bettors who are so inclined. Fans of UFC betting know that Cote has a serious beard. Punches to the dome will not hurt this man, rendering one of Belcher's chief offensive tactics useless. While Belcher may have more success with leg kicks, Cote possesses formidable power, and Belcher's proclivity to engage will likely be his downfall. Get on this line early before the cappers wise up and look for Patrick Cote to knock out Alan Belcher and UFC 113. |
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