12/03/2008 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabian Brunnstrom's second-period tally proved to be the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Toby Petersen and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Stars, who won consecutive games for the first time all season. Marty Turco, who entered play with a dreadful 3.61 goals-against average and crummy .868 save percentage, made 36 saves for Dallas.
"We'll take it, some guys played very well tonight," said Dallas head coach Dave Tippett. "Turco was excellent in goal. I thought Toby Petersen was excellent throughout the game, it was just a very good team win. We found a way to win in a very adverse situation with injuries and the controversy that surrounds our team today."
Before the game, the National Hockey League suspended Dallas forward Sean Avery indefinitely, pending a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman. The renowned pest and antagonist was disciplined due to inappropriate public comments he made to the local Calgary media on Tuesday morning that did not pertain to the game.
David Moss had the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff, who has started every game this season but one, allowed two goals on 22 shots for Calgary, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
"I think we did have the opportunities," said Calgary head coach Mike Keenan. "We didn't have the next level of being sharp in terms of our execution. We missed many wide open nets so Marty had obviously a solid game stopping 36 shots but we missed 12 opportunities so we could have had a 50 shot night if we were sharp."
Dallas struck for the game's first tally. Stephane Robidas let a shot go from near the top of the right circle that was kicked out by Kiprusoff with the right pad, but Petersen crashed the front of the net and banged in the rebound 6:14 into the contest.
Calgary began the middle frame on the power play and evened the score one second after Robidas' holding penalty expired. The rugged Todd Bertuzzi drifted out from behind the cage and sent a pass that was hammered by a pinching Adrian Aucoin. Turco made the initial stop, but Moss, who was positioned atop the crease, tucked in the rebound between the goaltender's legs.
Brunnstrom gave the Stars the lead at the 7:53 mark of the second period, taking a lead pass from Trevor Daley and splitting the defense. His first offering was turned aside by Kiprusoff, but the rookie Swede continued to go to the net and, with a one-handed swipe, buried the rebound on the backhand.
Turco was unbelievable in the third period, stopping all 15 shots fired his way, and Eriksson's empty-net marker in the waning moments iced the win for Dallas.
Game Notes
Dallas has won five of seven against the Flames...Calgary is 9-4-1 at home this season...The Stars are 6-7-1 on the road...The teams combined to go scoreless in five total power-play chances, four of which were awarded to Dallas.
<< Briere returns to lineup for Flyers, but leaves against Bolts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel
Briere returned to the lineup for Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa
Bay Lightning.
Briere missed the last nine and 14 of the previous 16 ga
<< Duke dominates Purdue in top-10 matchup
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler had 20 points and tied a
career-high with 12 rebounds, as fourth-ranked Duke topped No. 9 Purdue,
76-60, to remain unbeaten in the history of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Jon Scheyer
<< Miller leads Sixers in OT win over Bulls
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Miller missed the game-winning three-
pointer in regulation but rebounded to score nine of his season-high 28 points
in overtime, as the Philadelphia 76ers erased a four-game slide with a
103-95
<< Billups, Nuggets crush Raptors
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists,
and the Denver Nuggets crushed the Toronto Raptors, 132-93, at the Pepsi
Center.
Carmelo Anthony added 23 points and six rebounds, while Nene had 19 points
No. 25 Marquette fends off Central Michigan >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews scored 18 points to help the
25th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles defeat Central Michigan, 81-67 at the
Bradley Center.
Dominic James had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for
Thornton, Sharks crush Leafs >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three
assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the
Shark Tank.
Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also
Georgia Tech staying home for bowl season >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia Tech won't be traveling anywhere for a
bowl game this year, instead it will remain home to play in the Chick-Fil-A
Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3) have accepted a bid to play
Lakers aim to bounce back from first road loss vs. Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to rebound from their first
road loss of the season tonight when they resume a three-game trek against the
Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Los Angeles is coming off a tough 118-11
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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