'Canes aim for season sweep of Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes will shoot for a clean sweep of the season series against Tampa Bay when they visit the Lightning for tonight's Southeast Division battle at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Hurricanes are 5-0 against Tampa this season and have won six straight, eight of nine and nine of the last 11 meetings between the clubs. Carolina has also taken two in a row and three of four road tilts against the Lightning, but the Bolts have still won four of the last seven matchups on their home ice.

Carolina is battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and is currently just one point out of a postseason berth. With 73 points, the Hurricanes are even with Buffalo for the conference's ninth seed and are just one back of Florida, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, who are all tied for the final three postseason spots in the East.

The 'Canes enter tonight's test riding a two-game winning streak and are coming off Friday's lopsided win over visiting Calgary. Ray Whitney notched the third hat trick of his career as Carolina crushed the Flames, 6-1, at RBC Center.

Sergei Samsonov had a goal and an assist while Scott Walker and newly acquired Erik Cole each lit the lamp for the Hurricanes, who have won six of their last eight games. Cam Ward stopped 21 shots in the victory.

Cole returned to Carolina at Wednesday's trade deadline, coming over from Edmonton as part of a three-team deal that also involved Los Angeles. Cole is back with the club he spent the first six years of his NHL career with before he was dealt to the Oilers in the offseason in a deal which saw defenseman Joni Pitkanen come to the 'Canes.

Carolina has won five of its last seven road games and is 16-14-4 as the visiting club this season.

The Lightning, who are 19 points out of a playoff spot, have lost two straight, four of five and eight of their last 10 games.

Tampa was also in action on Friday and was dealt an overtime setback by visiting St. Louis. Brad Boyes scored just 27 seconds into OT and added two assists to lift the Blues to the 4-3 decision over the Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum.

Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning. Karri Ramo was tagged for four goals on 36 shots.

Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft, has four goals in his last five games and the 19-year-old has 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 62 games during his rookie season.

Tampa is just 11-13-9 as the host this year and is capping a three-game homestand tonight. The Lightning have lost two straight and five of their last six home tests.

Wwwbetus Hockey Betting News

<< Red Wings welcome Blue Jackets to Motown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will take aim at a third consecutive victory when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets for tonight's Central Division battle at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings, who won their fourth Stanley Cup title

<< Croatia routs Chile to reach Davis Cup QFs
Porec, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion Croatia advanced to the 2009 Davis Cup quarterfinals by grabbing an insurmountable 3-0 lead against visiting Chile in their best-of-five first-round matchup. The Croats won Saturda

<< Blues, Panthers collide in Sunrise
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams battling for a playoff berth in their respective conferences will meet tonight, as the Florida Panthers host the St. Louis Blues at BankAtlantic Center. The Panthers have 74 points and are currently tied wi

<< Cavs welcome Heat to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to bounce back from a tough loss as they welcome the Miami Heat this evening to Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs just dropped a 105-94 decision at Boston Friday night and their four- game winn

<< Preds put win streak on the line in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sizzling Nashville Predators will try to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games when they visit the struggling Philadelphia Flyers for tonight's interconference battle at the Wachovia Center. The Preda

Struggling Sharks try to continue dominance of Canucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks hope their recent success against Vancouver can help them get back on the right track, as they visit the surging Canucks for tonight's clash at General Motors Place. The Sharks, who have 94 points and a

Wild battle Kings in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams fighting to remain in the Western Conference postseason race face off this afternoon at the Staples Center, where the Minnesota Wild continue a challenging road trip by taking on the Los Angeles Kings. The

Cardinals hope to soar past Mountaineers in quest for Big East title >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals can clinch at least a share of the Big East Conference's regular season title tonight, as they square off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown. The Card

Sooner State rivals square off in Norman >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state foes collide in Norman this weekend, as the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play host to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 action from the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners let a golden opportunity slip

LSU visits Auburn in regular season finale >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LSU Tigers have already clinched the outright SEC regular season title, and they close out the schedule with a matchup against surging Auburn today. LSU finally said goodbye to a 10-game win streak, as they

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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