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All the Penguins could do when game one of its Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers was over was look at each other and wonder what happened. When game one started in Pittsburgh, the Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. It was just as everyone had expected. The Penguins’ offense was too fast for the slower Philadelphiadefense, and Flyers’ goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was not the playoff answer the Flyers were hoping for. The sports betting crowd was looking at a rout by a Pittsburgh team that is expected to be the favorite to win the Stanley Cup this season by a wide margin. Then things started to change.

The second period ended with Pittsburghholding confidently on to a 3-1 lead. But it was becoming apparent that the physical play of the Flyers was wearing the Penguins down. The only thing these two teams like about each other is hitting each other. The Penguins do not back down from physical play, but the Flyers were relentless. The price per head sports experts also noticed that Bryzgalov was sharp in the net. By the time the third period was over, the Penguins had allowed the Flyers to tie the game 3-3. In overtime, the Flyers won the game on a goal by Jakub Voracek. This sets up a very interesting game two.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have endured all manner of challenges when it comes to the playoffs in the past few years.Pittsburghhas watched its Stanley Cup winning goaltender crumble in the playoffs and the team has had to endure injuries to both its key players in previous playoff years. This year was supposed to be different, but it is starting to look the same. The Penguins are healthy heading into these playoffs, but goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury looks shaky again. The Penguins do not seem able to sustain its own momentum. But, let us keep in mind that this was only game one of what will be a very long series.

Philadelphia Flyers

A sportsbook review of the Flyers’ season can pinpoint exactly where troubles started to set in. When goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov refused to play in the Winter Classic because he said it was too cold, everyone wondered what would happen next. The scene of Bryzgalov sitting on the bench, covered in a blanket and drinking tea just screamed of a prima donna. But the team worked past it and is now competing in the playoffs. But the Flyers gave it everything they had in game one and had to go to overtime to win. We have yet to see everything that the Penguins can offer to win games in the playoffs.

The Bottom Line

The Penguins are too talented to lose both opening games of this playoff series at home. NHL fans all over the world are expecting the Penguins to emerge as the Eastern Conference champion. To do that,Pittsburgh will need to get back on track in this series.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins

The 2011 Cleveland Indians were the greatest Indians team Bodog handicappers and fans alike had seen in the past decade. Led by former Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta, the Indians made us all believe, that they were the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, as they had an extremely impressive first half of the season. While they dropped out of the playoff picture all together in the second half of the season, the Indians witnessed their odds entering the 2012 season, increase dramatically. Today, we wonder if 2011 was a mirage, or if the Indians can contend for a playoff spot as early as this season.

In the last week, Cleveland has locked up franchise shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and franchise catcher Carlos Santana to long – term contracts. Along with pitchers Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, Cabrera and Santana make up the core of this ball club. With the addition of an extra wild card in each league, the Indians are seen as one of many teams, with a new lease on life. Along with bookie software favorites such as Texas, Boston, Toronto, and Tampa Bay, the Cleveland Indians truly believe they have what it takes to make the post season.

On paper, the Cleveland Indians are essentially the AL Central version of the Tampa Bay Rays. In other words, they have one of the best pitching rotations and bullpen’s in all of baseball, but on the surface have a ton of question marks surrounding offense. For example, after Cabrera and Santana, who else is going to produce runs? As it stands right now, Shelly Duncan, Jack Hannahan, Travis Hafner and Casey Kotchman are all coming off okay years. However, for sportsbook review sites to truly believe in the Indians at least three of the four players need to hit 20 home runs and drive in at least 60 runs each.

A more important issue is the lack of depth the Indians have this season compared to last year. As you may recall, part of the reason that the Indians dropped off is because several players were battling injuries. When the injury bug spread throughout the team, they quickly fell apart. Yet, with that being said, having outfielder Shin-Soo Choo healthy for an entire season will be absolutely pivotal. Choo has seemingly been the anchor for any success the Indians have had throughout his tenure, as when he is performing well, so too is the rest of the team.

By all accounts, in order for the Cleveland Indians to have success, comparable to the Tampa Bay Rays of 2008 and the Toronto Blue Jays, they need to win a minimum of 92 games this season. It is hard enough for the heavyweights of the American League to win 90 games let alone 92. In other words, asking the MLB underdog Indians to win 92 or more games, may be asking too much. Despite having good pieces in place, the Tribe, needs a couple of more years to gel, before they can truly contend.

If last year’s finish to the regular season is any indication, we could be in for a wild ride once again in 2012. The MLB decided to add an extra Wild Card spot for both leagues, and the intention was to create more endings like the one baseball fans witnessed on the final day of the regular season a year ago, when the Boston Red Sox epic collapse was paired with the Tampa Bay Rays’ improbable comeback in a reversal of Wild Card fortunes. With such a long and drawn-out season it will be hard for baseball to ever duplicate the way that night played out ever again, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still get the chance to witness some memorable moments of their own this coming summer.

While the seasons have changed, some of the storylines remain the same, as is the case with the Tampa Bay Rays. Once again considered the sports betting underdog that has enough talent to make a surprise playoff run, nobody will be countingTampaBay out. However, despite one of the more talented rotations in baseball with David Price and James Shields leading the way, the Rays don’t have a ton of offense, and will struggle with consistency over stretches. How well they manage to remain in contention for anAL playoff spot will depend a lot on how their starting rotation fares.

As for the Red Sox, a season that ended in turmoil didn’t result in the expected fire sale changes that many pay head bookies expected would come. Aside from casting aside their general manager and clubhouse manager, thisBoston team will be largely comprised of the same pieces that contended for a playoff spot a year ago, but with a renewed sense of urgency throughout. While the focus will remain on the Red Sox epic late season collapse, fans are quick to forget about how slow this team started out of the gate as World Series favorites, and that some better numbers early on would have allowed that team to avoid their collapse altogether.Boston isn’t that far from being a legitimate World Series contender, and if they start fast this season then look out.

The American League wasn’t the only side that experienced that late season drama in 2011, as the National League was where Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals made their run to beat out the Atlanta Braves for the NL Wild Card on route to a championship parade. Pujols is gone to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but the Cardinals will welcome back breakout stars David Freese and Jon Jay, as well as starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, who missed all of last season due to injury. As for Atlanta, the expectation is that Jason Heyward and Martin Prado both bounce back, and that will be the difference in them clinching one of the NL playoff spots. However, with the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals looking to claw their way in to the playoff picture, and the Philadelphia Phillies already considered the World Series favorites, baseball betting fans might not be buying in to the idea that the Braves are a team built for the postseason.

With the baseball betting season getting underway later this week, fans, media and hardcore handicappers alike are attempting to find one team that will provide them a big payday. Last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks came out of nowhere to run away with the NL West division, by winning 29 more games then they did in 2010. The surge allowed for the Diamondbacks to provide a nice payout to fans and handicappers looking for value. This season, the team with the best odds to provide good value, is the lone Canadian franchise in the MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays. Ever since GM Alex Anthopoulos was given his job in 2009, the Blue Jays have become a cult favorite. Today, we’ll examine what Toronto has to do, to finally live up to its praise in the baseball community.

In the ever daunting American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees appear to be worlds apart. Where the Yankees are always in the mix for a playoff appearance and even a World Series berth, the Blue Jays haven’t played meaningful baseball in September in nearly 20 years! However, over the last few seasons, the Blue Jays have quietly put together one of the best minor league systems, to compliment a young core. With the Yankees getting older, the next couple of years should be when the Blue Jays increase their bookie software value, as they finally return to the playoff picture and perhaps the World Series.

You can make the argument, that the Blue Jays would have already made it to the playoffs, if the MLB did the polite thing and moved Toronto to a different division. Over the last three seasons, Toronto’s Achilles heel, has been their record against their own division, in particular the big three of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. According to colleagues Sports Illustrated, if the Blue Jays want to make the extra wild card, let alone the playoffs, they have to improve their record against the big three. Toronto has gone a ridiculous 87 – 129 against the big three while going 240 – 192 against the rest of the American League!

But why does Toronto struggle against the big three but find so much success against everyone else? In our opinion, it’s a matter of confidence and consistency. Essentially, as has been well documented in sportsbook reviews, the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays operate as if every game from the start of April to the end of October is a playoff game. In fact, all three teams operate on the premise that they have to win the World Series or their season is a bust. With Toronto, they seem to play with this mentality against the rest of the league, but play as if they are a class below their divisional rivals when they take them on. In order to get over the hump, Toronto needs to play with the same mentality as the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, that a playoff appearance isn’t good enough, that the World Series is the be all end all. If Toronto can adopt this mentality, they should be able to qualify for the playoffs in the next couple of years.

Online Sportsbook Overview

Few teams in the NHLhave been better than the Buffalo Sabres over the past couple of months, except for maybe the Pittsburgh Penguins. While the NCAA basketball betting was going on, the Sabres climbed from 15^th place immediately after the All-Star break all the way up to eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The team has been winning on the road and at home. Goaltender Ryan Miller has suddenly found his form and the team has lined up right behind him. The Sabres have run in to some injury problems again as defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Andrej Sekera were put on the injury list in the Sabres’ win over the Washington Capitals. But the Sabres have shown amazing depth in this run and have been able to plug in injured starters with minor league replacements without missing a beat.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were red hot before Sidney Crosby made his way back on to the roster. After over a year of repeated concussion issues, Crosbyis finally a stable member of the team and contributing. The price per head sports experts have been ready to give theNHL MVP award to Penguins’ star Evgeni Malkin all season long. Even withCrosby back in the lineup, Malkin has been a force that other teams seem unable to contend with. The only thing Malkin will need to be careful of is that it was a late season game againstBuffalo last year that put him out of the lineup for the playoffs. The Penguins are hoping that there is no repeat of that situation in this game.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres is 7-1-2in the last 10 games and currently riding a five-game winning streak. When Buffalohas needed to grab points in the standings, it has been able to do so. Many observers thought that a game a week ago against the Rangers would slow the Sabres down. But Buffaloplowed through Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers to add to its growing win total. A betonline.com review of the past few weeks shows goaltender Ryan Miller is playing some of the best hockey of his career. All the Sabres have to do to make the playoffs is win these last five games. It sounds easy, considering how the team has played, until you remember that the Penguins are playing for something in this game as well.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins is7-2-1in the last 10 games and trying desperately to catch the New York Rangers for first place in the Eastern Conference.Pittsburghmay not catchNew York, but this Penguins team has shown that it can play even under the worst conditions.Pittsburghmade the playoffs and performed well last year without Malkin and Crosby. This year, the Penguins have been a force in the Eastern Conference all season long andCrosbyhas just started to become a factor. With two defensive starters out for the Sabres,Pittsburghmay be able to walk throughBuffaloand grab this win.

The Bottom Line

The NHL fans inBuffalo are loving this recent run but most fans can’t help but feel like it would have been nice to see this from the Sabres earlier in the season. The Sabres are one of the best teams in the league and it could still miss the playoffs thanks to poor play in December and January. The Penguins are not giving an inch to anyone and this game is two points thatPittsburgh desperately wants.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins

On Saturday March 31, 2012, you can find the March Madness Final Four results here. What started out as a 68-team tournament two weeks ago has dwindled down to four, as powerhouses, Kentucky and Ohio State, are joined by fan favorites Kansas and Louisville. For fans hoping for an all power house March Madness betting final, you may get your wish, as Kentucky will play Louisville in one Final Four matchup, while Ohio State plays Kansas in the other. With only a few days to go until tip off, here is a preview of who we believe will win the March Madness Tournament.

For all intents and purposes, the Kentucky Wildcats remain the odds on favorite to win this year’s March Madness Tournament, with odds of four to two. After entering the tournament as the top seed in the entire nation, Kentucky has basically been on cruise control up until their interstate showdown with the Louisville Cardinals. While the bookie software sites are expecting Kentucky to decimate Louisville, you can bet that the Wildcats themselves, will be expecting a tough battle. The line is currently set at eight and a half points, but considering that Louisville has a knack for stepping up their game as an underdog, taking the under would be a wise move.

Looking at how they got there, the Louisville Cardinals made life hard on themselves in the round of 64 and round of 32, by having a difficult time putting away Davidson, and then New Mexico. Then in the Sweet 16, things got surprisingly easier, as the Cardinals demolished the Michigan State Spartans, by 13. This past weekend, Louisville shocked the sportsbook reviews world, as they came from behind to knock off the Florida Gators. Now they must face a Kentucky squad, who’s closest game in the tournament, was this past weekend, when they won by 12 against Baylor. Pick: Kentucky Wildcats.

In the other semifinal, Ohio State will take on Kansas in a thrilling affair. The Buckeyes are led by reigning Big 10 player of the year Jared Sullinger. While Sullinger is the foundation for the Buckeyes frontcourt, the true MVP of the team, is Aaron Craft, who has set a few records this tournament. One could make the argument, that now that Kendall Marshall and the North Carolina Tar Heels have been eliminated, Craft becomes the top guard in the upcoming NBA draft.

On the other hand, you shouldn’t count out the Kansas Jayhawks at all in this game. The Jayhawks, shocked the world this past weekend, when they destroyed the North Carolina Tar Heels, 80-67. If the Tar Heels weren’t an odds on lock to meet Kentucky in the finals before the tournament, you could have argued that injuries got the best of them as the tournament went on. Nevertheless, the Tar Heels more or less fell flat on their faces, because Harrison Barnes never showed up in this year’s tournament. Looking at Kansas, while Tyshawn Taylor is the straw that stirs their drink, the overall team game has become more obvious in this year’s team. With that in mind, look for Kansas to meet Kentucky in the Finals on Monday, before losing a nail biter.

The annual March Madness betting tournament is nearly a week old. Over the next few days, the participants and viewers alike will be preparing for the heart of the tournament, the sweet 16. What started out as a 68-team tournament has quickly dwindled down to a 16-team winner take all tournament. Entering the prime of the tournament, there are many college basketball betting storylines for fans to consider. Today we will examine some of the most intriguing storylines as the sweet 16 gets underway.

One of the biggest storylines to kick off the fourth round of the March Madness tournament, is how will the North Carolina Tar Heels overcome adversity? Essentially, after seemingly being on cruise control through their first two games, the Tar Heels have experienced injuries to two major catalysts as they prepare for Ohio later this week. Star forward John Henson sustained a wrist injury in the first game of the tournament, and has not looked the same since. Then to make matters worse, stand out point guard Kendall Marshall suffered a broken wrist in the Tar Heels victory over the Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday. Bookie software agents have adjusted the lines significantly because of Marshall’s injury, moving UNC from the best odds to win March Madness, to the fourth best odds.

Simply put, the bookies and for the most part sharp handicappers do not believe that the Tar Heels are the same team without Kendall Marshall in the lineup. Over his two seasons at North Carolina, Marshall has been looked at, as the glue that keeps the Tar Heels starting five together. Add his injury to the fact that Harrison Barnes has been mediocre the best of times these last few weeks, and you can understand the bookies cause for concern. Furthermore, if Marshall is done for the tournament, then so to will be the drafting stock of the other potential NBA stars on the team.

Another big storyline entering the sweet 16 portion of the tournament is, the burning question of can the NC State Wolfpack continue their climb to the Final Four. Along with many colleagues, we’ve completely disregarded NC State as a Cinderella story in this year’s tournament, given both who they have faced and what conference they come from. NC State plays in the ACC with the aforementioned Tar Heels, meaning that they understand how to battle tough competition. Nevertheless, as an 11^th seed in the tournament, many colleagues are picking the Wolfpack as the lone Cinderella of this year’s tournament. The reason for this stance is due to impressive victories over the San Diego State Aztecs and Georgetown Hoyas, two middle of the pack teams.

In the sweet 16 round, the NC State Wolfpack will put their strong performances on the line, as they collide with the second seeded Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks have often found themselves in the sweet 16, only to find trouble. Head Coach Bill Self has the horses in Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson to finally get over the hump and win the March Madness Tournament. Yet, we do not believe it will be as simple to get by the Wolfpack as our colleagues do. Kansas would be best served to not look past the Wolfpack, as when they have looked past an opponent previously, they have ended up choking.

It has been 48 hours, since the March Madness betting field was announced, and to say that this year’s tournament is tough to select a champion from would be putting it lightly. What has taken anywhere from 45 seconds to five minutes in the past, literally took us 20 minutes to mull over, as there are plenty of good teams in this year’s college basketball betting tournament. For the first time since we can remember, the winner of the play in game to take one of the two 16^th seeds will have 24 wins! In years past, there has been a distinct advantage for the top seed over the 16^th seed, but as 24 wins suggests, the level of competition is closer then we’d like to admit. Here is a look at the four teams we believe will make it to the Final Four.

In one of the strangest occurrences in NCAA history, three of the four teams to be named top seeds for the 2012 March Madness Tournament, failed to win their conference tournaments. The Michigan State Spartans, the West bracket’s top seed, was the only team to win the conference tournament and be named a number one seed, as they narrowly defeated Ohio State. On the other hand, Kentucky and Syracuse the top two teams in the NCAA for the entire season, basically locked up their bookie software position prior to the start of conference championship play. In our opinion, the biggest surprise was placing the North Carolina Tar Heels as the fourth number one seed, over the Missouri Tigers.

For all intents and purposes, the belief amongst fans and analysts alike is that if any top seed goes out early, it will be the Tar Heels. In our view, the dark horse of the tournament will be the Michigan Wolverines. Playing in the Midwest bracket with powerhouses North Carolina and Kansas, the Wolverines should be able to show fans and critics alike, that their blowout defeat at the hands of Ohio State in the Big 10 Conference tournament, was a wash. In other words, Michigan has the potential to get to the Sweet 16 and faceoff with the aforementioned North Carolina. If Michigan can upset North Carolina, it should be a clear road to the Final Four, as Kansas has to go through Georgetown before facing Michigan in the Elite Eight, which is no easy feat.

The rest of our bracket rounds out, so that Kentucky rolls through to the Final Four, while Michigan State also rolls through. One bracket that is being difficult to pick a Final Four representative from is the South. By all accounts, Syracuse like Michigan State is built for a Championship caliber run. Yet, one team standing in their way, are the Florida State Seminoles. After winning the NBA trade deadline ACC Tournament, the Seminoles have an aura of confidence that people have seen from them in quite some time. Add that to the fact they came within a point of going to the Final Four, and you have the makings of a scary team. Final Four will be Kentucky taking on Michigan State, while Michigan takes on Florida State.

One of the biggest sports betting debates that seemed to center around the SEC this season was the legitimacy of calling the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats the best team in the country based on the fact that they completed their conference schedule with a perfect record. On the one hand, there were those that pointed out how incredibly rare it is for a team to win all 16 games on their conference schedule and finish No. 1, which is understandable. On the other hand, the fact that the Wildcats had only one SEC victory that came by a margin of less than six points, including a pair of blowout wins over the No. 19 Florida Gators that came by a combined 25 points, is proof that Kentucky really just didn’t have any true competition in the SEC and was able to benefit from playing in a conference void of top national contenders. The fact that the Wildcats beat both Kansas and UNC earlier in the year will keep critics from attacking their place at the top of the national rankings regardless of the timing of those wins, but looking forward to the SEC tournament there may not be much reason to even bother watching.

Head coach John Calipari’s team is expected to absolutely dominate in the tournament, and right now there isn’t even a single reason to think that they wouldn’t. With as many as six scorers that are capable of hitting double-digit point totals in a single game, the Wildcats boast unparalleled talent and depth in the SEC. Even mort importantly is the way that talent is spread out in terms of size and intangibles, with potential NBA first-overall draft pick Anthony Davis dominating down low as the top big man in the country, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist a future lottery pick out on the perimeter, Doron Lamb a steady difference-maker, and Marquis Teague the consistent playmaker that makes the offense work from the point. That all goes without even mentioning Terrence Jones and Darius Miller, and when you line them all up, a very strong argument can be made that Kentucky has the most talented per head roster in the country.

While it is important to talk about the team’s depth, it is just as important to acknowledge just how good Davis has become. The freshman forward has matured incredibly under coach Calipari, and not only leads the Wildcats in average points and rebounds as a double-double machine, but has also become an elite defender with good speed, size, and instincts. There is not a single big man in the SEC that can slow down Davis when he is at his best, and that is just one more reason to doubt that any team will stop the Betonline tournament favorites.

With so many blowout wins throughout the course of their SEC season, the Wildcats are the closest thing to a lock to emerge from their conference title tournament as champions, and it’s unlikely that it will even be close. Teams like Florida, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt are respectable, but they are nowhere near the level that Kentucky is playing at, and that should make for an SEC title tournament that goes exactly how it is predicted to go ahead of the March Madness betting action.

The 2012 March Madness betting tournament is quickly approaching, as selection Sunday is less than a week away. As we edge closer to the greatest playoff tournament in sports, handicappers, can’t help but wonder, which conferences will have the most talent represent them? Today, for your NBA trade deadline pleasure, we will be looking at few conferences, which by all accounts, should be well depicted starting on March 13^th. Here is a preview of the conferences with the most teams in March Madness.

It remains unclear what the thought process is behind the NCAA creating each March Madness bracket. However, by all accounts, the two conferences with the most teams in the tournament should be the Big East and the Big 10. Over the last two years, both conferences have transitioned nicely into multi dimensional units, as they show fans and critics alike, that they can be more then just football conferences. The Big 10 in particular has really become a complete conference, as schools such as Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State and Wisconsin, show, that they are putting as much effort into basketball as they do for football.

As of this writing, the latest projections we have, suggests, that a total of seven of the 12 teams to make up the Big 10 will be participating in this year’s tournament. The bookie software locks for the tournament, are obviously the four schools we just mentioned. Ohio State and the two Michigan schools, found themselves entrenched in a three way tie for the regular season crown. The trio shared an identical record of 13 and five in conference play. Wisconsin on the other hand, narrowly missed making the championship a four way tie, as they finished the regular season with a conference record of 12 and six. By all accounts, Wisconsin can still be given the highest seed of any Big 10 school, if they win the college basketball betting Big 10 Championship this week.

While the Big 10 turned heads, by becoming a more competitive basketball conference then anyone could have imagined, the Big East made sure, that this season was similar to last season. For those unfamiliar, last year, the Big East was the class of the NCAA, as 11 of 16 teams made it to the March Madness tournament. This season, only nine are expected to be named to the Madness, as a couple of schools have struggled. Two schools that may not make the cut are the Connecticut Huskies and Pittsburgh Panthers, two schools that were ranked first and second in the conference, as recently as the preseason.

Connecticut has struggled mightily this year, in what most would call a Championship hangover, after winning the National Title for 2011. This would be an inaccurate description of the Huskies struggles, as they started the season off going 15 and two, before Head Coach Jim Calhoun became ill. Once the legendary coach left the program, the rails so to speak fell off the program. Stars such as Jeremy Lamb appear more focused on their NBA draft ranking then helping the team succeed. Meaning, the upcoming Connecticut v West Virginia game, can cause all sorts of problems for the losing team, while maintaining uncertainty for the winning team, on their bid for a March Madness berth.