Red Wings aim for another victory in Chicago

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to rebound from consecutive close losses when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at the United Center.

Detroit had won three straight before dropping a shootout decision to visiting Edmonton on Friday and losing an overtime test to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

The game against the Predators was a big one, considering Detroit is in the midst of a battle for postseason positioning with Nashville. The Red Wings, who have 86 points this year, are currently two points behind Nashville for first place in the Central Division and the top spot in the Western Conference.

Saturday's loss came after Peter Forsberg's goal 2:11 into overtime handed Nashville the 4-3 decision at Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Tomas Holmstrom notched his third career hat trick for the Red Wings, who have a hefty nine-point edge over Dallas for the fourth spot in the Western Conference.

Mathieu Schneider picked up three assists and Pavel Datsyuk had two in a losing cause. Chris Osgood made 25 saves, but fell to 6-4-2 on the year.

The Red Wings tried to give themselves a boost in the playoff race by trading for forward Kyle Calder on Monday. The Philadelphia Flyers sent Calder to Detroit in a three-team deal that saw also the Red Wings ship forward Jason Williams to Chicago. The Blackhawks sent defenseman Lasse Kukkonen and a third-round pick in 2007 to Philadelphia, then Chicago dealt Calder to Detroit for Williams.

Tonight marks the end of a brief two-game road trip for the Red Wings, who are 17-13-4 as the visiting team this year.

The Blackhawks will try to stay on the winning track tonight after ending a five-game losing streak Sunday against St. Louis. Duncan Keith, Adrian Aucoin and Bryan Smolinski each scored first-period goals as Chicago smoked the Blues, 5-1.

Martin Havlat posted a goal and two assists while Nikolai Khabibulin finished with 22 saves for the Blackhawks, who have 55 points and come into tonight's game tied with Columbus for last place in the Central Division.

The Blackhawks, who are 12-14-4 as the host thus year, are playing the third test of a four-game homestand tonight.

The Red Wings have dominated the series with Chicago in recent years, winning five straight and 12 of the last 13 encounters between the clubs. Detroit is 4-0 against the Blackhawks this year and has also taken six in a row in the Windy City.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

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