Blackhawks clip Red Wings

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2012 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Kruger netted the winner early in the third period and Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots as Chicago edged Detroit, 2-1, at United Center.

Jimmy Hayes provided the other score for the Blackhawks, who have won four games in a row.

Valtteri Filppula notched a first-period goal for the Red Wings, whose six- game win streak came to a halt.

Jimmy Howard made his first start since February 2, but lost despite making 27 saves.

Vagass Hockey Betting News

<< Baylor women secure Big 12 title with rout of Texas
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and No. 1 Baylor clinched the Big 12 regular season title with an 80-59 victory over Texas. The undefeated Lady Bears (28-0, 15-0 Big 12) also got a doub

<< Heat win seventh straight, top Kings
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored 30 points and dished out 10 assists, and the Miami Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter to take down the Sacramento Kings, 120-108, on Tuesday. Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers each add

<< No. 7 North Carolina downs NC State
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kendall Marshall scored a career-high 22 points, hitting four of North Carolina's 10 three-pointers as the seventh- ranked Tar Heels downed North Carolina State, 86-74, at RBC Center on Tuesday. Mars

<< Lehtonen, Stars blank Canadiens
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves to record his second shutout of the season and 19th of his career as the Dallas Stars blanked the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0, at Bell Centre. Ryan Garbutt netted his fir

<< Fleury, Penguins blank Rangers
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to shut out the Eastern Conference's top team, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Fleury had six saves in the first

Fisher, Preds deal Canucks rare regulation defeat >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pekka Rinne made 32 saves and the Nashville Predators handed the Vancouver Canucks their first regulation loss in more than a month. Mike Fisher had a goal and two assists, leading the Nashville offense

UConn shakes off weekend defeat, routs Pitt >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis totaled a game-high 23 points as No. 4 Connecticut routed Pitt by an 86-37 count on Tuesday. Tiffany Hayes added 13 and five steals for the Huskies (25-3, 12-2 Big East), who snapp

Grizzlies send 76ers to fourth straight loss >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc Gasol fill the stat sheet with 15 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks, as Memphis started strong and beat Philadelphia, 89-76, handing the 76ers their season-high fourth straight loss. Rudy

Michigan uses long ball to down Northwestern in OT >>
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No. 11 Michigan went 14-of-38 from long range, hitting three in a row near the start of overtime to run away with a 67-55 win over Northwestern on Tuesday. Trey Burke led all scorers with 19 points, while Ti

Scott leads Virginia over Georgetown >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Scott had 20 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday, leading No. 25 Virginia to a 61-59 win over Virginia Tech. Sammy Zeglinski and Jontel Evans both added 13 points for the Cavaliers (21-6, 8-5 ACC),

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.

MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.