Norrena, Blue Jackets blank Sharks

Hockey Betting Lines

02/17/2007 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Fredrik Norrena blocked all 29 shots faced for his third shutout, as the Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the San Jose Sharks, 3-0, at Nationwide Arena.

Fredrik Modin, Gilbert Brule and Sergei Fedorov each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 2-3-0 on their current six-game homestand, their longest in franchise history. It ends Sunday night versus Montreal.

Nikolai Zherdev and David Vyborny both notched an assist.

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 16 shots for San Jose, which has been blanked in its last two contests. The Sharks won the first two games of a season-long eight- game road trip -- including a big victory in Anaheim on February 7 -- but was also blanked by Nashville, 5-0, on Wednesday.

"We've taken a lot of steps, but the biggest step is the one we haven't taken yet and that is the step of consistency," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It comes from inside the locker room, individually and then collectively is greater than anything."

San Jose, which is 18-10-0 on the road this year, will continue its swing on Sunday with a divisional clash in Dallas and will also visit Washington, Chicago and Calgary.

"We tried," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "We had opportunities. Their goalie, he made saves."

After a scoreless first period, Columbus drew first blood with 15:04 left in the second.

Modin took a feed from Brule in the right circle and skated around the goal. He backhanded a shot from just in front of the left post that deflected off Nabokov's arm, and tipped in the rebound over the netminder's right shoulder.

The Blue Jackets padded their lead when, on a 2-on-1 break, Fedorov dropped a pass to Brule, who fired a snap shot top shelf 6:02 into the third.

Columbus then blew the game open on its third unanswered goal, as Fedorov bounced the puck off the netminder's pads and then wristed it home on the second effort 12:05 into the third.

Columbus finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while San Jose was 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.

Game Notes

The Sharks posted victories in the two previous meetings this season between the clubs, and outscored Columbus 8-2 in those two games...Despite this loss, San Jose has won six of the last nine overall in the series and has split the last six in Columbus.

Flslottery Hockey Betting News

<< Ruutu leads Penguins over Devils
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarkko Ruutu scored a pair of goals to guide the Pittsburgh Penguins past the New Jersey Devils, 5-4, at Continental Airlines Arena. Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist while Marc-Andre Fleury c

<< Harrington, Mickelson share lead at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Padraig Harrington carded a three- under 68 Friday and Phil Mickelson posted a six-under 65 to share the lead near the end of the second round at the Nissan Open. Harrington and Mickelson sta

<< Yow-zer: NC State downs No. 2 UNC
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the day that NC State named its basketball court after women's head coach Kay Yow, the Wolfpack rewarded their long-time leader with a 72-65 upset win of second-ranked North Carolina at Reynolds Coliseu

<< Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)
Signed guard Marta Fernandez.

<< Illini's Jamar Smith out for season; Carlwell out of hospital
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois head coach Bruce Weber announced Friday sophomore center Jamar Smith will miss the remainder of the season after being involved in a traffic accident Monday night. Freshman center Brian Car

Sprague wins truck opener at Daytona >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Sprague captured the first Craftsman Truck Series event of 2007. The No.60 Toyota crossed the finish line just a few feet ahead of Johnny Benson. The victory was Sprague's first of the season an

Blues finally beat Predators >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Legace stopped 19 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and 18th of his career, as St. Louis snapped a 14-game losing streak to Nashville with a 1-0 win over the Predators. Bill Guerin scored

Chela advances to quarterfinals in rainy Brazil >>
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth seed Juan Ignacio Chela had to wait an extra day, but finished off a straight-set win over Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals at the $456,000 Brasil

Patriots place franchise tag on Samuel >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots put the franchise tag on cornerback Asante Samuel, which should keep the 26-year-old standout with the organization for at least one more year. A fourth-round pick in the 2003 NFL

Lee leads sophomores past rookies >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York's David Lee garnered MVP honors with 30 points, making all 14 of his shots from the floor, as the sophomores beat the rookies, 155-114, in the All-Star rookie challenge Friday night. Lee, who tops

SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards