Sharks continue trek with test in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After splitting the first two tests of an epic nine-game road trip, the San Jose Sharks will travel to the Sunshine State for tonight's battle against the Lightning at Tampa Times Forum.

Thanks to a tennis tournament currently taking place at HP Pavilion, the Sharks have been pushed to the road for the majority of February. San Jose began its swing this past Sunday in St. Louis and the club won't play at home again until Feb. 28 against Philadelphia.

After dropping a 3-0 decision to the Blues, San Jose bounced back with Monday's victory in Washington. The 5-3 decision over the Capitals was just the second win in five games for the Sharks, who are currently three points ahead of Los Angeles for first place in the Pacific Division.

Joe Pavelski was the offensive star in Monday's victory, as he totaled four points on two goals and two assists in San Jose's win at Verizon Center.

Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who went 3-for-6 on the power play one night after getting shut out by the Blues.

"The message changed, and it was up to them to bounce back and respond the way they did," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan.

Joe Thornton added three helpers and Thomas Greiss stopped 39-of-42 shots for his third win in four starts. The victory also improved San Jose's road record this season to 13-8-4.

The Sharks have dominated the Lightning in recent years, winning two straight and six of the last seven meetings in this series. San Jose posted a 7-2 home win over Tampa back on Dec. 21 with Logan Couture scoring twice for the Sharks in that lopsided victory.

San Jose had won three straight in Tampa until a 5-2 loss at the Forum on Oct. 22, 2009.

The Lightning have lost two straight and are just 2-3-2 in February after closing January on a season-high five-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay, which is 15-9-2 at home compared to a 9-17-4 road record, began a four-game homestand on Tuesday and was dealt a 4-0 setback by the Ottawa Senators. Jason Spezza notched a hat trick for the visitors and Craig Anderson made 28 saves to record the win.

Mathieu Garon allowed three goals on 26 shots in the loss, which was Tampa's first shutout defeat since dropping a 3-0 decision in St. Louis on Nov. 12.

"I think we missed a lot of opportunities that could have gotten everyone rolling. We definitely got a lot of chances to get back in the game," Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier said.

Lightning defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron (back) and Matt Gilroy (upper body) have missed the last four and two games, respectively, and both players are questionable for tonight.

Tampa Bay is tied with Buffalo for 13th in the East and is 10 points out of a playoff spot.

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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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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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