Winter Classic From Game Boston

Hockey Betting Lines

In their final game at Philadelphia until hosting the New York Rangers on Jan. 2 in the Winter Classic, the Flyers were pounded by a 6-0 margin by the streaking Bruins, who scored twice in the game's first three minutes and four times overall in the first period.

 

Philadelphia had a seven-game win streak snapped and fell into a tie with Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference.

 

"It was a tough day for us, and it was not typical of the way we have been playing or executing," said Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette.

 

The Flyers, of course, learned last week that captain Chris Pronger will miss the rest of the season due to severe post-concussion syndrome, while leading scorer Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn are also out with concussions.

 

Colorado started up a four-game homestand with its fifth straight victory at the Pepsi Center on Saturday, a 2-1 triumph over Washington. Erik Johnson scored his first goal of the season and also assisted on Cody McLeod's first score of 2011-12.

 

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves as the Avalanche won for only the second time in six games.

 

Stevens took over for the fired Terry Murray last week, but tonight's tilt figures to be his last game as LA's head coach. The Kings have reached an agreement for Darryl Sutter to become the team's new head coach, and he will likely be introduced on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the team.

 

The Kings fell behind 3-0 before the midway point of the first period on Saturday and were never a factor after that. Jonathan Quick started in net for Los Angeles but was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on seven shots. Jonathan Bernier relieved Quick and stopped 15-of-20 shots.

 

Davis Drewiske and Jarret Stoll had goals for the Kings, who have scored two goals or less in 11 straight games. LA had not allowed more than four goals in any game this season before Saturday's blowout.

 

LA defenseman Willie Mitchell could return tonight after missing the last three games with a groin injury. Forward Mike Richards (head) has joined the team on its trip, but he is still out indefinitely.

Mysportsnook Hockey Betting Blog

<< ST. Louis In Detroit ST.

<< Rushing Yards Over Int Diego

<< San Francisco Boosts Yards At Roethlisberger

<< Home Mangia Visit Highlight Of Minutes

<< Oral Roberts Down Field Goal Efficiency Field

Goals At Subban Jets >>

Georgia Southern For JR. East >>

Home Crowd With Percent State >>

North Carolina Down Percent State >>

Points Saturday Visit Highlight Of Rankings >>

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.