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06/07/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While walking around Philadelphia's Wachovia Center in the hours leading up to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, it became clear to me that the Flyers organization and their fans are not big on subtlety.
In fact, the Flyers' default position skews to the dramatic side of things. Fans come to the arena clad in orange T-shirts that bear slogans like "Defy All Odds", "Together We Fight" and "We Bleed Orange".
Prior to Game 3, when the Flyers trailed the series 2-0, the club posted a picture of captain Mike Richards on the big screen accompanied with the famous Winston Churchill quote, "We are still masters of our fate. We are still captain of our souls."
In a sense, the Flyers market themselves as a kind of NHL version of the Oakland Raiders and, perhaps, the warrior imagery and flair for the dramatic is what makes the Wachovia Center such a tough place to play.
This was, after all, the home of the Broad Street Bullies, one of the most notorious championship teams in pro sports history. The group of players who made up the 1974 and '75 Cup title clubs -- the only two championships in franchise history -- are still worshipped as conquering heroes in the City of Brotherly Love.
Now, the Flyers will have to use the art of psychodrama to keep their Cinderella season alive for one more game. Philadelphia and Chicago will meet Wednesday night for another showdown at the Wachovia Center.
After posting a dominating 7-4 win in Sunday's Game 5, the Blackhawks will take a 3-2 series lead into that next battle, and can claim their first Stanley Cup title since 1961 with the win.
But that figures to be easier said than done for the Blackhawks, after all, this series has been owned by the home teams. Chicago proved that once again on Sunday as it improved to 3-0 on home ice in this set. The Flyers, of course, are 2-0 on Broad Street.
Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette is confident that his club can continue the trend of home dominance on Wednesday night.
"We've got to get back as a team and make sure we're ready to play our brand of hockey, our style of hockey in our building with our fans," said Laviolette. "We have to make sure we're ready to win one hockey game."
Of course, there isn't much sense in looking ahead to Game 7 yet, but if the Flyers are able to take the sixth meeting, it certainly would be tough for Philly to pull off a road win should there be a decisive contest in Chicago.
Then again, the Flyers have been counted out so many times this season it would be unwise to sound the death knell at this stage. A team that has already come back from down 3-0 in a series to win in this postseason is not going to be scared off by a mere 3-2 deficit.
"I think that when you get to this point there's a tremendous amount of confidence in your team to win hockey games," added Laviolette. "They get it and they understand it. If any team gets it, this team gets it, because we've been here so many times."
BUFF TURNS THE TABLES ON PRONGER
The most intriguing matchup of this series has been a battle between heavyweights -- Chris Pronger of the Flyers and Dustin Byfuglien of the Blackhawks.
Pronger, a towering defenseman, and Byfuglien, the game's bulkiest player, have been hammering away at each other since the Cup Finals began over a week ago. The Flyers blueliner dominated the first four games, limiting Byfuglien to just one assist in Games 1-4.
However, Chicago's mammoth winger exploded for four points in Game 5 on Sunday night, posting two goals and two assists to push his club within one game of a Stanley Cup title.
"I think last night was the biggest influence in the game he's had throughout the playoffs," Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said of Byfuglien's Game 5 effort. "He was a big factor."
Pronger, on the other hand, had his worst game of the playoffs Sunday, as he was on the ice for six of Chicago's seven goals and finished a minus-five for the night. He was a plus-seven through the first four games of the series.
Laviolette defended his No. 1 blueliner after Game 5 and was obviously not keen to make a scapegoat of Pronger.
"Our team needs to be better, the whole group, I believe, needs to be better," said Laviolette. "When we're successful, we do it as team. When we lose and we have a night that's tougher, we do it as a team. The minus 5's, are they all his fault? No."
WILL IT BE THE LEIGHT SHOW IN GAME 6?
There is some speculation as to who will be between the pipes for the Flyers in Game 6. Michael Leighton was torched for three goals in the first period and was replaced by Brian Boucher before the start of the second.
It should come as no surprise that Laviolette has been mum on who will be his starter in Wednesday's game.
"I don't comment on lineups," was all Laviolette had to say on Monday when asked if he was sticking with Leighton.
It's hard to believe he will make the switch to Boucher. Leighton was also pulled after giving up five goals in Game 1 of this series and rebounded nicely in the next game, stopping 24-of-26 shots in what turned out to be a 2-1 loss for the Flyers.
<< La Salle agrees to multi-year contract with Giannini
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - La Salle and head men's basketball coach
John Giannini have agreed to a multi-year contract. Details of the agreement
were not released.
Giannini's Explorers teams have gone 83-97 in six seasons, inc
<< Silva stays undefeated as Cubs down Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marlon Byrd went 3-for-4 and drove in two to
help Carlos Silva stay undefeated, as the Chicago Cubs topped the Pittsburgh
Pirates, 6-1, in a makeup game at PNC Park.
Silva (8-0) allowed one run on four
<< Benneteau, Gasquet win Aegon openers
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French seeds Julien Benneteau and Richard
Gasquet were among Monday's opening-round winners at the Aegon Championships,
a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The ninth-seeded Benneteau handled fellow French
<< This Week in Golf - June 10th through June 13th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - ST. JUDE CLASSIC, TPC
Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee - Brian Gay earned a trip to the U.S. Open with
his five-shot victory at last year's St. Jude Classic -- his second dominant
win in
Hornets to introduce Monty Williams as next head coach >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets will reportedly
introduce Monty Williams as their next head coach on Tuesday.
According to The Times-Picayune, the two sides agreed on a three-year contract
with an option for a
Logano, Harvick have at it at Pocono >>
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The next chapter in NASCAR's "boys, have at
it" story of the season was written on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, with Joey
Logano and Kevin Harvick re-igniting their feud.
While Logano's teammate, Denny Hamlin, d
Cardinals' Rasmus claims NL weekly award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus
was named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending June 6.
Rasmus hit .500 (11-22) with three home runs, nine RBI and eight runs scored
duri
Near perfect game gives Galarraga AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga,
who had a perfect game taken away on a blown call on what would have been the
final out, has been named the American League Player of the Week for the
period
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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