Blackhawks try to end lengthy slide in Nashville

Hockey Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks didn't look like a team ready to break out of their longest slump in four years the last time they hit the ice. Doing so against the Nashville Predators may prove difficult as well.

The Blackhawks hope to avoid a ninth setback in a row in a meeting with the division-rival Predators.

Chicago, just two seasons removed from a Stanley Cup championship, are in the midst of their first eight-game slide since an 0-6-2 stretch from Dec. 30-Jan. 11 during the 2007-08 season. Its current drought includes an 0-5-1 mark on a season-long nine-game road trip.

The Blackhawks suffered their 10th straight defeat on road ice Saturday, falling 3-0 at the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith made 38 saves to shut down Chicago, which got 24 stops from Ray Emery.

A loss tonight would give Chicago its longest losing streak since dropping nine in a row from Jan. 4-26, 2007.

"We need something to give in and make us feel good about ourselves," said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.

The Blackhawks now sit at 10-14-3 on the road and have dipped into a tie for sixth overall in the Western Conference with the Kings. Both clubs sit five points behind the Predators.

Nashville is 2-0-1 in three meetings with Chicago this season, outscoring the club 8-3 over consecutive wins. The Predators own three victories in their past four encounters at home versus the Blackhawks.

The Preds have secured points in 16 of their last 20 games, going 14-4-2 in that time, but have lost four of their past five. They suffered their third loss in a row on Saturday, falling 4-3 at Boston in a shootout.

Pekka Rinne was peppered with 41 shots through overtime and was bested twice in the shootout. Sergei Kostitsyn and Martin Erat came up empty on their attempts in the tiebreaker.

"They outshot us. Probably outplayed us, too," said Rinne, who made 38 saves. "We gave a point away.

Shea Weber, Patrick Hornqvist and Mike Fisher scored in regulation for the Preds, who saw the Bruins' Milan Lucic force overtime on a goal with 67 seconds left in the third period.

Wwwclubvipcasino Hockey Betting News

<< Surging Ducks visit Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task. They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that continues to move sout

<< Red Wings aim to set new NHL home mark vs. Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to set a new NHL record for the longest home winning streak in league history when they host the Dallas Stars tonight at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit matched a league standard with its 20th conse

<< West Virginia set to join Big 12 in July
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have agreed to settle their lawsuits, enabling the university to leave the conference and join the Big 12 in July. West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would not d

<< Rangers, Bruins clash in Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have established themselves as the top team in the East and the Blueshirts will try to increase their conference lead when they visit the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Garden. With 77 points, the Rangers

<< Sens begin road trip in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having little success on a recent five-game homestand, the Ottawa Senators hope to have more luck when they kick off a road trip tonight by battling the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Times Forum. The Senators went 1-2

Sliding Leafs shoot for rare win in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Given that Toronto hasn't won in Calgary in over nine years, the club didn't pick the best time to go on a three-game losing streak. The Maple Leafs hope to avoid posting their longest skid of the season this evening and s

Nets waive Bogans; sign Andre Emmett >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have waived guard Keith Bogans, just a day after he underwent surgery that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. Bogans had a torn deltoid ligament re

Gators take on Tide in Tuscaloosa >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Florida Gators seek a quick turnaround, as they head to Coleman Coliseum for Southeastern Conference competition with the short-handed Alabama Crimson Tide. This game matches up an apprentice

Buckeyes set sights on Gophers in Big Ten brawl >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will try bounce back from their poorest outing of the season as they head to Williams Arena to take on Tubby Smith's Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten Conference matchu

No.22 Virginia takes on Clemson in ACC affair >>
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Virginia Cavaliers continue their Atlantic Coast Conference road swing with a visit to the Littlejohn Coliseum to square off with the Clemson Tigers. This will be the 119th battle between the Ca

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

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.