12/02/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski scored power play goals 81 seconds apart early in the third period, rallying Toronto to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Jeff Finger added an empty-net goal and Vesa Toskala came up huge by stopping 32 shots, including all 26 he faced over the final two periods.
"Vesa kept us in there and I think you give him a lot of credit there for the whole game," said Finger. "He gave us some time to get our legs back and he kind of answered in the second and third."
The Maple Leafs had lost five in a row before making a change at general manager, and they've since won two straight with Brian Burke as the new GM. Also, Toronto won for the first time at the Staples Center. The Maple Leafs played there for only the third time since it opened. Their previous win in Los Angeles came March 12, 1998 at the Great Western Forum.
"The early part of the game was a matter of us going post to post and finding our legs," said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "The Kings were all over, but once we settled down we got back into our 'throw the puck back into the net' kind of a game and obviously we got some huge saves and with goaltending like that you have a very good chance of winning."
Alexander Frolov scored on LA's first shot of the game, but the Kings had a two-game win streak broken. Jason LaBarbera made 27 saves.
LaBarbera stopped all 17 shots he faced over the first two periods, but the Kings were hurt by tripping penalties to Sean O'Donnell and Dustin Brown in the first two minutes of the third.
"It's tough when you take two penalties right away," said LaBarbera. "We talked about that right before we went out there; try to keep your sticks on you because we were the ones who got two calls there at the end of the second. Unfortunately it went against us and they scored two goals."
Toronto tied the game while on a two-man advantage. Niklas Hagman shot the puck from the right side of the net. The disc deflected high into the air and bounced in the crease. Stajan barely got his stick on the puck and it trickled into the net at the 2:09 mark.
Los Angeles then turned the puck over in its own end. John Mitchell had the puck in the right corner and delivered a pass to Grabovski in front for a successful deflection.
The Toronto netminder stopped a close-in try from Brad Richardson with 4 1/2 minutes left, although Richardson didn't get much on the shot.
The Kings pulled LaBarbera with over a minute left. Matt Greene's shot from the high slot with nearly 45 seconds left was deflected wide of the net.
Finger then iced the victory with 11 seconds remaining.
"To go into the third period up 1-0 and end up down two men so quickly, it was unfortunate," said Kings coach Terry Murray. "The game was going pretty well. Both teams worked hard, battled hard, some great opportunities at both ends. I think both goaltenders were tremendous tonight. It's unfortunate that it ends the way it did on a 5-on-3. We had our opportunity later and we weren't able to get much generated to get an opportunity to tie the game up."
Just after the game started, Frolov was sent on a breakaway off a pass from Greene and deposited a backhander over the right pad of Toskala with only 57 seconds expired.
Game Notes
Frolov has scored in four of the last five games...Toskala is 7-2 lifetime against the Kings...Toronto started a three-game western road trip with contests at San Jose and Phoenix upcoming...Frolov has a team-leading nine goals...The Kings were 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Leafs were 2-for-5.
<< Marvelous Monday night debut: Slaton carries Texans past Jags
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Slaton was ready for prime time with 130
yards on the ground and two touchdowns, and the Houston Texans opened up the
offense in their first-ever Monday Night Football appearance, leading to a
30-17 v
<< Former NHLer Martin dies in drowning accident
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hubert "Pit" Martin, who spent 18 years in the
NHL with four clubs, including more than 10 seasons with the Chicago
Blackhawks, passed away Monday after a drowning incident in Canada.
The 64-year-ol
<< Avs use big second period and then hold off Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny had two goals and an assist, and
capped a Colorado scoring binge with the eventual game-winner late in a four-
goal second period as the Avalanche topped the Minnesota Wild, 6-5, at Xcel
Energy
<< A's don't offer arbitration to Thomas
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics declined to offer salary
arbitration to any of their four free agents, including designated hitter
Frank Thomas.
Left-handed pitcher Alan Embree, right-handed pitcher Keith Fou
Phillies pass on arbitration for Burrell, Moyer >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pat Burrell era in Philadelphia took
one step toward its possible conclusion after the World Series champion
Phillies balked at offering he and 16-game winner Jamie Moyer arbitration
prior t
Mets' Perez offered arbitration >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez was offered
salary arbitration prior to the midnight (et) deadline Monday night.
The 27-year-old left-hander has until the conclusion of Sunday to accept the
arbitration of
Pulley, Guyton highlight MEAC All-Conference Team >>
Virginia Beach, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina State running back Will
Ford was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive
Player of the Year and Morgan State's Jarrell Guyton earned the Defensive
Player of the Year
Knicks welcome Blazers to MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will continue a five-game road
trip this evening against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Portland has won four straight overall and opened the trek with Sunday's 96-85
victory over
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football gambling needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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