Armstrong helps Thrashers end season with win over Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

04/11/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Armstrong scored twice to lead the Atlanta Thrashers past the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-2, in a battle between two teams eliminated from the playoffs at Philips Arena.

Eric Perrin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Ron Hainsey, and Colin Stuart also lit the lamp for the Thrashers (35-41-6), who had a three-game losing streak going into the tilt. Marty Reasoner had two assists. Kari Lehtonen stopped 33 shots to collect the win.

Atlanta ended the season with 76 points.

"Hopefully this summer were going to do some things to improve this team. I want to compete for the Stanley Cup and I think the city deserves it," Kovalchuk said.

Matt Pettinger and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning (24-40-18), who lost nine consecutive games to finish the season. Mike McKenna stopped 11- of-15 shots while Karri Ramo finished the game in net and gave up two goals on 11 shots.

Tampa Bay finished the season with 66 points.

Atlanta drew first blood on a power-play goal from Armstrong at the 7:10 mark of the first period.

The Thrashers used a short-handed goal from Perrin with 3:30 remaining to extend their margin to 2-0. Reasoner, who was stationed at the left circle, dumped the disc off to Perrin at the right circle. Perrin fired a shot top shelf to beat McKenna.

Pettinger's power-play goal with 2:43 left in the first cut the deficit to 2-1. Pettinger swatted in a bouncing puck in front of the net to beat Lehtonen.

The Lightning outshot the Thrashers 13-7 in the first stanza but trailed by one heading to the second.

Atlanta took control of the game by scoring three goals in the second frame.

Kovalchuk lit the lamp at the 9:15 mark, Hainsey scored a power-play goal with 5:51 remaining, and Armstrong tallied his second goal of the tilt with 3:28 left to give the Thrashers a 5-1 advantage going into the third.

Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay 46 seconds into the third period, while Stuart lit the lamp about six minutes later for Atlanta to account for the final score.

Game Notes

The Thrashers went 2-for-7 on the power play, while the Lightning went 1- for-5...There was a total of 54 penalty minutes in the game...Atlanta won the season series with Tampa Bay, 4-1-1...The Lightning finished the season with a 12-22-7 record as the visiting team. The Thrashers ended the season with a 18-21-2 mark at home.

Wwwlottoballs Hockey Betting News

<< Sabathia gets first win as a Yankee in win over Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia dazzled on the mound to get his first win as a Yankee, as New York made short work of the Kansas City Royals, 6-1, in the second installment of a three-game set from Kauffman Stadium. Sabathia

<< Reyes, Mets deal Marlins first loss
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Reyes finished 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and three RBI as the New York Mets doubled up Florida, 8-4, in the middle test of a three-game set from Dolphin Stadium. Carlos Delgado collected three hits and

<< Kawakami effective in debut as Braves down Nats
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenshin Kawakami tossed six solid innings in his major league debut, as the Atlanta Braves downed Washington, 5-3, to keep the Nationals winless so far this season. Kawakami (1-0), the first Japanese-born

<< Guthrie, O's bullpen silences Rays
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Guthrie threw six shutout innings while Melvin Mora had a grand slam as the Baltimore Orioles downed the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-0, in the second of a three-game set at Camden Yards. Guthrie (2-0) gav

<< Devereaux's hat trick propels Toronto past Ottawa
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boyd Devereaux registered his second career hat trick, and Niklas Hagman scored twice, as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators, 5-2, in the season finale for both teams at Air Canada Centre.

Red Bulls, Dynamo battle to scoreless draw >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo entered Week 4 of the Major League Soccer season with identical 0-2-1 records despite playing each other in the 2008 MLS Cup semifinals. After battling to a phys

Terriers shock RedHawks to win men's national hockey title >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Cohen tallied with 8:13 remaining in the first overtime as Boston University rallied from a late two-goal deficit to defeat Miami-Ohio, 4-3, in the NCAA men's hockey national championship at Verizon

Soriano's two-run homer lifts Cubs over Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning and the Chicago Cubs held on to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5, in the second of a three-game series at Miller Park. Soriano finishe

Hill and Suns down Timberwolves >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grant Hill scored 19 points to lead the Phoenix Suns past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-97, at the Target Center. Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley added 16 points apiece for the Suns, who have won fou

Bucks silence Thunder >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Jefferson matched a season high with 35 points to go with nine rebounds, leading Milwaukee to a relatively easy 115-98 drubbing of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Luke Ridnour donated 18 points an

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.