Flames edge Avs

Hockey Betting Lines

11/20/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miikka Kiprusoff needed to make just 18 stops to post his second shutout of the season as the Calgary Flames edged the Colorado Avalanche, 1-0, at the Pepsi Center.

Daymond Langkow scored the only goal of the game on assists from Mike Giordano and Jarome Iginla for the Flames, who have won three of their last four games.

Kiprusoff's shutout was the 28th of his career with both of his zeroes this season coming against Colorado.

"Tonight was both teams playing really tight," said Kiprusoff. "This is how you want to win on the road. Their goaltender was really solid tonight, too."

Peter Budaj made 32 saves in the loss for the Avalanche, who have dropped their past two games after a three-game winning streak.

"It's not frustrating, but disappointing," said Budaj. "We did a great job penalty killing, but we're just not putting the puck into the net. I trust my players and I know we can score. They are just not going in right now, but I know that will change."

The only goal of the game came halfway through the second period. Giordano blasted a shot from inside the right circle that Budaj made a stop on, but the rebound kicked out front where Langkow buried it for his fifth goal of the year.

"I think the original shot was such a hard shot that it was hard for him to control the rebound," said Langkow. "I just jumped on it and got it past him."

Kiprusoff needed to stop just five shots in the second period to keep the shutout going.

The third period went quickly as Colorado was limited to just six shots in the frame.

The best chance came with under two minutes to play during a furious scrum in front as Kiprusoff was scrambling to keep the puck out of the net. The Avs threw several shots on net that either Kiprusoff or his surrounding defenseman stopped.

A scoreless first period saw Budaj make 10 saves while Kiprusoff stopped all seven shots he faced.

Game Notes

Colorado plays in Los Angeles on Saturday...Calgary hosts Detroit on Tuesday...Colorado right wing Marek Svatos left the game in the second period with an abdominal injury...Calgary has won all four games against Colorado this season...Calgary went 0-for-7 on the power play while Colorado failed to score on its one man advantage.

Wmegachannels Hockey Betting News

<< Gators power past Southern Utah
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Calathes scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Florida over Southern Utah, 64-50, at the O'Connell Center. Dan Werner added nine points for the

<< Dwyer leads Georgia Tech past Miami
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Georgia Tech rolled up 472 yards on the ground in a 41-23 romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and

<< Kane scores twice as Chicago downs Stars
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Kane scored twice to pace the Blackhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars as Chicago continued its successful six-game road trip. Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists, while Brian Campbel

<< Rondo, Celtics cruise past Pistons
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo had 18 points and doled out eight assists to help the Celtics to a 98-80 victory over the Pistons in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his

<< Demitra beats former team as Canucks edge Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavol Demitra had a goal and an assist to help his new team, Vancouver, defeat his old team, Minnesota, as the Canucks took a 3-2 win over the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Demitra had spent the previous two

Big Ben plows Pittsburgh past Cincinnati >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger didn't let a bitter, snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down Cincinn

Detroit staves off late rally to down Edmonton >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jiri Hudler tallied a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner, as Detroit scored early and often before staving off a late Edmonton rally for a 4-3 victory. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal for Detroit, wh

MSG shocker! Michigan upsets UCLA >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship game of

Lakers roll past Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92. Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po

Kings cool off Capitals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown and Michal Handzus each had a goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat Washington, 5-2, handing the Capitals their first regular loss since November 1. Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar an


Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.