Brodeur notches another shutout, moves closer to Sawchuk

Hockey Betting Lines

03/20/2009 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the wins record now in his grasp, Martin Brodeur is inching closer to another fabled milestone.

The Montreal native turned aside all 35 shots he faced to notch the 101st shutout of his legendary career, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-0, at Prudential Center. Brodeur is now just two shy of the great Terry Sawchuk in that category.

Brodeur notched the 552nd win of his career on Tuesday against Chicago to pass Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy for first on the all-time list. Brodeur was given a rare night off Wednesday when New Jersey lost at Carolina, but was his usual self two nights later.

Patrik Elias scored twice for the Devils, who have won a club-record 11 straight games on home ice.

Niklas Backstrom got the start between the pipes for Minnesota and was yanked in the second period after yielding three goals on 11 shots. Josh Harding finished with 17 saves for the Wild, who had recorded at least a point in five of their last six games coming in (2-1-3).

A misplay by a Wild defenseman led to a 1-0 lead for the Devils. New Jersey backliner Johnny Oduya flipped the puck from center ice and Marek Zidlicky corralled the dump-in behind his own net, where the tenacious forecheck of Brian Gionta forced him to throw the puck out blindly to Elias. Elias then wasted little time and snapped the puck behind a bewildered Backstrom at the 1:24 mark of the middle frame.

It was 2-0 when a sliding Gionta tapped in a feed from Zach Parise at 9:59 of the second period, and Oduya lit the lamp 63 seconds later, unleashing a drive from the point that bounced and fluttered over the left shoulder of Backstrom.

Elias added a power-play tally in the third period.

Game Notes

Parise collected two assists...New Jersey is 6-1 with two ties in the nine all-time meetings against the Wild...Minnesota has lost four straight, five of six and eight of its last 10 road tests.

Sportventureclub Hockey Betting News

<< Gibson perfect from field as USC tops BC
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taj Gibson had the perfect game, shooting a 10-for-10 from the field for 24 points, as the 10th-seeded Southern California Trojans dominated the second half to defeat Boston College, 72-55, in first- round a

<< Brodeur, Devils blank Wild
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the wins record now in his grasp, Martin Brodeur is inching closer to another fabled milestone. The Montreal native turned aside all 35 shots he faced to notch the 101st shutout of his legendary

<< Wise choice: Arizona advances with win over Utah
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nic Wise scored 29 points as Arizona, one of the last bubble teams to get an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, pulled out an 84-71 win over Utah in a first round contest in the Midwest Region. Chase Budinger

<< Xavier gets balanced attack in win over Portland State
Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Anderson poured in 14 points, as fourth- seeded Xavier dominated 13th-seeded Portland State, 77-59, in an East Region first-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament. Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond, and Dan

<< Top-seeded Louisville pulls away to beat Morehead State
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samardo Samuels led a balanced attack with 15 points and seven rebounds, and the Louisville Cardinals stymied the Morehead State Eagles, 74-54, in Midwest Regional first-round action of the NCAA Tournam

Nowitzki's last-second shot lifts Mavs over Pacers >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 23 points, and his jumper with 1.1 ticks on the clock gave the Dallas Mavericks a 94-92 win against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Jason Terry had 17 po

Bobcats creep closer to playoffs with win over Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boris Diaw equaled a season-high with 30 points, while Gerald Wallace matched that total as the Bobcats continued their push for a playoff spot with a 102-89 win over the Toronto Raptors. Wallace also h

LaRose nets a pair as Hurricanes rally to overtake Isles >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad LaRose scored twice, including the game- winner in the third period, as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the New York Islanders, 5-4, at RBC Center. Matt Cullen had two goals and an assist while R

Earthquakes sign midfielder McDonald >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes signed Brandon McDonald, the Major League Soccer team announced on Friday. The 6-foot-1 midfielder appeared in 16 matches, including 10 starts, with the Los Angeles Galaxy last

Celtics' Garnett returns after month-long absence >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett returned to Boston's starting lineup against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday after a posterior muscle strain of his right knee kept the All-Star forward sidelined for one month. Without Garnet

Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com