Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers
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02/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid setting a franchise record for consecutive road losses.
Phoenix had a season-best six-game win streak broken with Saturday's 4-0 loss at Dallas, with Stars goaltender Marty Turco making 34 saves to help shut down the Coyotes' slumping offense.
The Coyotes had scored only one regulation goal in back-to-back shootout victories over Nashville and Chicago coming into Saturday's test, receiving excellent outings from netminders Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason LaBarbera in both games. Bryzgalov, who shut out the Predators with 25 saves on Tuesday, wasn't as sharp this time around, though, as the veteran Russian managed to stop only 31-of-35 shots.
"Our whole group look tired [Saturday] without a doubt," said Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, whose club completed a four-game road trip. "It's been a long week on the road and we've played some very hard games. We knew what we were up against [Saturday] and we didn't come out on top."
Coming back home should help the Coyotes recharge. The team has compiled an outstanding 21-8-2 record at Jobing.com Arena so far this season and has won 15 of its last 20 matchups (15-3-2) as the host, including three in a row.
Facing the lowly Oilers also figures to be to Phoenix's benefit, considering Edmonton has generated a league-worst 42 points and enters tonight's clash having lost nine straight road games, all in regulation. That skid matches a team record established twice previously, most recently from February 25-April 5, 2007.
The Oilers' latest two road setbacks have occurred on this current five-game swing. After dropping a 4-2 decision in Minnesota on Thursday, Edmonton was blanked by Colorado's Craig Anderson for the third time this season in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to the Avalanche.
"He has played well against the Oilers," remarked Edmonton forward Mike Comrie about Anderson. "I don't know if it's a case of him playing well or if it's a combination of us not getting the quality chances we need."
The Oilers have only mustered three goals over their last three games and may not have the services of one of their top scorers tonight. Forward Sam Gagner, who ranks second among Edmonton players in goals (14) and points (35), was forced to exit Saturday's contest with a sore knee. The 20-year-old had notched eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) over an eight-game stretch that preceded this weekend's loss.
Edmonton should be stronger in the back end for this evening's tilt, however, with defensemen Ladislav Smid and Steve Staios set to return from concussions that had sidelined both players recently. Smid has missed the Oilers' last eight games, while Staios has been out since January 16 with his injury.
The pair are expected to lend further support to goaltender Jeff Deslauriers, who made 39 saves in a losing cause on Saturday.
These teams split two meetings earlier this season, both of which were held in Edmonton, but the Oilers are 8-1-1 against Phoenix since the start of the 2007-08 campaign. Edmonton has also left victorious in four of its past five visits to Glendale.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will be aiming to extend a franchise- record winning streak tonight. If recent history is any indication, the Anaheim Ducks may not be posing much of a problem towards achieving that feat. The Kings s
<< Devils, Flyers ready to renew rivalry
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will seek his first goal in a New Jersey
Devils uniform when his new team visits the rival Philadelphia Flyers tonight
at Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series between Atlantic
Division foes.
<< Avs resume homestand with visit from Blues
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to forge a tie atop the
Northwest Division standings tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues
for a battle at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche have 70 points and are two behind idle Vancouv
<< Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves
tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San
Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak
<< Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their
run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola
Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm. The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the weekend draw with Ful
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Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have confirmed that
striker Ricardo Fuller was arrested on suspicion of assault following an
incident at a nightclub.
The 30-year-old Jamaica international was detained in
Wigan releases Edman from contract >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan have released defender Erik Edman from
his contract.
Edman, 31, was out of contract at the DW Stadium at the end of the current
season but the two parties have reached a mutual agreement to term
Dikgacoi faces six weeks out with ankle injury >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that
midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi will be absent for six weeks with ankle ligament
damage.
The South Africa international limped out of Saturday's draw with Bolton
City waits on Bellamy injury news >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City are waiting to discover
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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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