Surging Ducks visit Minnesota

Hockey Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task. They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that continues to move south after a great start.

The Ducks visit the Wild tonight riding a five-game point streak and having notched a 12-2-3 mark over their past 17 games. That has Anaheim 10 points back of a playoff spot.

The Wild, meanwhile, held the best record in hockey on Dec. 13, but they now sit 12th overall in the Western Conference and a mere five points ahead of the Ducks.

Anaheim continued its surge on Sunday, recording a 5-3 victory over a Columbus squad that had just handed Minnesota a two-goal loss the previous day.

Corey Perry set the tone for Anaheim, scoring 46 seconds in en route to his second hat trick of the season and fifth of his career. Bobby Ryan also scored and had an assist and Ryan Getzlaf tallied three assists. Jason Blake scored and Jonas Hiller made 24 saves.

The Ducks bounced back from a 2-1 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Friday and improved to 3-0-2 in their last five.

"It was important, especially because [the Blue Jackets] played last night, to get a lead," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When you get a lead on a team and they played last night, it's a little easier to make them quit."

Anaheim has now split the first two of a season-high eight-game road trip.

Minnesota, meanwhile, dropped its fourth game in a row on Saturday with its 3-1 loss to Columbus. Devin Setoguchi had the lone Wild goal and Niklas Backstrom came up with just 16 saves.

"It sucks every time you lose," Backstrom said. "Winning is obviously more fun, but at least tonight we gave ourselves a chance to win."

Minnesota is expected to be without forward Cal Clutterbuck this evening after he suffered a lower-body injury versus the Blue Jackets.

Tonight is the final of four regular-season meetings between the Ducks and Wild. Minnesota has won two straight and four of the past five overall, but had a five-game series home winning streak snapped in a 3-2 decision with Anaheim on Oct. 27.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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