Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/21/2007 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny scored two power-play goals during a high-powered first period and Peter Budaj made 33 saves, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, at Pepsi Center.
Milan Hejduk tallied a goal and an assist while Marek Svatos' goal early in the third period provided the difference for Colorado, which is now 4-4 in its last eight games overall.
Tony Amonte, Dion Phaneuf and Kristin Huselius scored for Calgary, which finished its consecutive three-game set against the Avalanche 1-2 after a split in the two games in Calgary last Thursday and Saturday. Miikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals on 32 shots for the Flames, who will play in Phoenix on Thursday before a three-game homestand.
The high-octane first period concluded with five total goals and a 3-2 Colorado lead.
Stastny started the scoring 7:19 into the stanza. Marcus Nilson was whistled for hooking and the Avalanche went to work with the extra skater. Near the conclusion of the two-minute minor, Hejduk alertly kept the puck inside the offensive zone at the left point and sent it to Joe Sakic along the near-side half-wall. Sakic then passed to Andrew Brunette along the goal line and Brunette centered it for a successful redirection by Stastny at the top of the crease.
"They had a good power play tonight," said Flames forward Jarome Iginla. "The first period was bad - their power play gave them confidence."
After Amonte's ninth goal tied the contest over two minutes later, another power-play goal gave the Avs a 2-1 lead. Moments after a 5-on-3 advantage expired, Hejduk poked the puck toward the goal mouth from near the left post. With Kiprusoff out of position and Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr without a stick, Stastny was able to put home the loose puck from the opposite post with 6:05 to play.
Calgary, though, answered with a power-play goal of its own. With Brad Richardson in the box, Phaneuf corralled an Edmonton clearing attempt at the right point, drifted along the blue line and, from the centerpoint, released a wrist shot that beat Budaj with the assistance of a screen in front by Iginla at 18:01.
The see-saw battle continued when Hejduk's 22nd goal with 54 seconds remaining in the opening stanza restored the Avs lead. The veteran forward stole the puck from Calgary's Matthew Lombardi in the neutral zone, nicely split two defenders and lit the lamp with a backhander from inside the left circle.
"I tried to just put it on net with a backhand, and I was surprised that it went in," said Hejduk.
The lone goal of the middle session tied the contest. The visitors needed only 15 seconds of power-play time to find the back of the cage after an interference minor was called on Ossi Vaananen. Phaneuf and Iginla played catch along the left side before Iginla's cross-ice pass from along the outer rim of the circle found the stick of Huselius for an easy one-timer from the right side past a sliding Budaj at the 5:34 mark.
Despite a 16-5 shots-on-goal advantage for Calgary in the third period, the only goal of the frame was also the decisive one at 1:24. From his own blue line, Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles sent a perfect pass through the neutral zone for Svatos, who gained control at the far blue line, skated in on a partial breakaway down the right side and beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot.
Game Notes
Earlier Tuesday, the Avalanche learned that defenseman Jordan Leopold will be sidelined approximately four weeks with a fractured wrist. Leopold suffered the injury during Colorado's 7-5 victory over these Flames on Saturday...Stastny and Sakic each extended their point-scoring streaks to nine games...The Avs improved to 17-13-3 at home this season...The Flames finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Flames were 2-for-6 with the extra skater...Attendance was 17,623.
<< Williams advances to quarters in Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded American Venus Williams
advanced into the quarterfinals of the $175,000 Regions Morgan Keegan
Championships and the Cellular South Cup with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over
Denmark
<< Parker and Spurs knock off Denver
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker led a balanced San Antonio
attack with 17 points, as the Spurs routed the Denver Nuggets, 95-80, for
their third straight win.
Manu Ginobili added 14 points and Tim Duncan scored 12 f
<< Koivu lifts Wild over Stars in shootout
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu scored the lone goal of the
shootout, as the Minnesota Wild nipped the Dallas Stars, 2-1, at XCel Energy
Center.
Brian Rolston scored in regulation for the Wild, who won for the fourth t
<< Lightning top Panthers in shootout
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner in the
shootout and added a goal in regulation to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a
3-2 win over the Florida Panthers at St. Pete Times Forum.
With the shootout tied
Third-quarter drought dooms Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta went through the definition of futile
in the third quarter, ending the period without a field goal, as the Chicago
Bulls widened a halftime edge and rolled to a 106-81 rout of the Hawks at the
United
Billups leads Pistons past Bucks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 19 points, as the
Detroit Pistons held on for an 84-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee's Mo Williams missed a driving layup in the final seconds of
regulation, and
Happy Returns: Nash leads Phoenix over Clips >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash scored 13 points and dished out
12 assists before spending a large chunk of the second half enjoying his
return to the lineup from the bench, as Phoenix cruised from the outset in a
115-90
Sedin leads Canucks past Ducks in OT >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin scored 2:19 into overtime, as the
Vancouver Canucks won their fifth straight game with a 3-2 decision over the
Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
Kevin Bieksa and Markus Naslund also scored fo
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
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting