In the world of NHL betting odds the Flyers are favored in this home game to beat the Canadiens. The slow development of goaltender Carey Price has been a constant source of inconsistency for the Canadiens. Instead of being the number one goalie, he has been sharing time with Jaroslav Havlak. The two teams are battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and both teams come into this game with winning records in their last 10 games. The Flyers offer a more consistent and punishing scoring attack with power forwards such as Jeff Carter. At this point the Flyers may be more than the Canadiens can handle.

Pick: Flyers 4-2

New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins

Those who bet on sports know that for years the Rangers have tried to tip the winning scales in their direction by investing in what appeared to be top-flight talent. Chris Drury and Scott Gomez were brought in to add some toughness to the scoring attack of the Rangers. But those who give sports betting tips weren’t falling for it, and when Jaromir Jagr left to go play hockey back in his home country the Rangers fell apart. Scott Gomez left the team at the end of last season, and now the Rangers are a shell of what they used to be. Even though the Rangers are favored in this game, they don’t have the fire power to hang with the Stanley Cup champs.

Pick: Penguins 3-1

Toronto Maple Leafs @ St. Louis Blues

Oh what a difference a trade can make. When the Leafs acquired goaltender JS Giguere and hard-nosed defenseman Dion Phaneuf people knew the Leafs would be a better team, but few expected the effects of the trade to wear off. But for some reason, even though the Leafs have only won 2 of their last 10 games, they continued to be favored in these away games since the trade. The Blues have a gem in goaltender Chris Mason and even though Mason is not posting great numbers, when set in the context of how awful the Blues are it is amazing that Mason has a winning record. Keith Tkachuck is about the only person on the Blues roster capable of putting the puck in the net on a consistent basis. But even with all of that going against them, the Blues are still a better team than the new and improved Maple Leafs.

Pick: Blues 4-1

Coyotes @ Colorado Avalanche

This will easily be the best game of the night. The Avalanche and the Coyotes both play a hard-nosed and fast paced brand of hockey that is fun to watch. The visiting Coyotes are favored, but the Colorado Avalanche are a much-improved bunch compared to last year. Colorado goaltending standout Craig Anderson has put the Avalanche in a position to challenge for the Northwest division lead. The Coyotes have the misfortune of being stuck behind the runaway train known as the San Jose Sharks, but the Coyotes have put up enough points to lead in 3 of the 6 divisions in the league. Both teams are solid defensively, they both have great goaltending and they both have rising stars and veterans on offense that know how to play the game. This game will come down to a shoot out.

Pick: Avalanche 3-2 (shootout)

Need a cure for that Super Bowl hangover? The 2010 Winter Olympics will help you get right back into the sports gambling swing. It might not look like winter in Vancouver, but, by hook or by crook, there will be snow in the right places once the Games begin. Athletes from over 80 nations are expected to gather at Friday’s opening ceremonies; billions will be watching on television, and more than a few dollars will exchange hands.
   
Of the 15 sports involved, most of the action will be on men’s hockey. This is the first time the Games will feature a standard NHL rink (200-by-85 feet) instead of the international 200-by-98 surface, which should play right into the hands of the host Canadians. They’re the favorites at 11-10, followed by Russia at 21-10 and Sweden a distant third at 11-2. Team USA, who should also benefit from the smaller dimensions at GM Place (de-branded as “Canada Hockey Place” for the Olympics), is next at 7-1.

Canada may be the consensus birthplace of hockey, but they went 50 years without winning the gold medal thanks to the rise of the Soviet team and the exclusion of NHL players. Neither of those obstacles exists anymore; however, that’s no guarantee the Canadian version of the Dream Team will come out ahead. They didn’t even reach the podium in 1998 or 2006. Canada’s one shining moment was in 2002 at Salt Lake City, when Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Joe Sakic, and Steve Yzerman were on board.

Canada’s team for 2010 doesn’t have quite the same jaw-dropping collection of talent. Martin Brodeur (.917 save percentage this year) is back in goal, and he’ll see some familiar faces behind the blueline in Scott Niedermayer (32 points in 59 games, but a minus-17) and Chris Pronger (40 points in 57 games, plus-20). Up front, it’s none other than Sidney Crosby (39 goals, 35 assists in 58 games) picking up the torch for the retired Lemieux. But does the roster as a whole possess enough skill as well as that elusive team chemistry to merit such short Olympic odds?

The Russians might have the solution. In addition to familiar NHL names like superstars Alexander Ovechkin (42 goals in 51 games), Evgeni Malkin (61 points in 52 games) and Ilya Kovalchuk (31 goals in 52 games), Team Russia has included several players from its very own Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Four of those players are from the same Salavat Yulaev Ufa team; another three are from Ak Bars Kazan. Put those skaters in front of Evgeni Nabokov (.927 SV%), and you have a serious gold medal contender with nearly twice the potential payout as Canada.

You’ll hear a lot of talk about the expectation level Canada has for its hockey team at these Games. This is the third time the Great White North has hosted the Olympics (following the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary), and Canada has yet to strike gold of any kind on home soil. That’s very likely to change this year, according to these Olympic betting odds:

How many gold medals will Canada win?

0-5                37-20
6-9                  5-6
10 or more     19-10       

Canada’s gold-medal viability got a major boost in 1992 when short track speed skating was made a full Olympic sport. South Korea has won 17 gold since then, followed by Canada with five and the United States with four. This can be a tricky sport to handicap because of the high frequency of disqualifications for making improper contact with other skaters – it’s like NASCAR out there. But with eight different events involved (four for the men, four for the women), Canada should wrangle some gold from the short track. Charles Hamelin has some value at 8-1 to take the men’s 1500m; Hamelin is also +110 in a head-to-head matchup with Team USA star Apolo Anton Ohno (-150).

The chances of Canada grabbing at least six gold look even better when you look at the rest of the Olympic futures market. Germany is a heavy 1-1 favorite to take home the most gold medals from Vancouver, followed by Canada at 5-2 and Team USA at 7-2. There are 86 events in total. Canada won six gold in Nagano and seven each in Salt Lake City and Turin. They could win even more this year as the host country – for a change.

Check out the latest Winter Olympics betting markets and prices at Bodog Sportsbook. (US bettors welcome too). 

Here’s how the bookie’s marketing crew describe their latest promotion: 

“Think you can handle 22 sweaty jockstraps? You won’t be joining the prawn sandwich brigade in the corporate boxes. No. You’ll be getting down and dirty with the team and their legendary bagman ‘Rala’ in the bowels of Croke Park on Sat 13th March for Ireland v Wales. From the dressing room to the pitch, you won’t be watching the game - you’ll be part of it! ”

We’re not so fussed for jockstraps, here at BookieLabRat.com, but do like the sound of a side line seat during the game, so close that your eyes water from the linament. Plus the other prizes listed below sound good too:
The Prize:

- Helping the Bagman for the Day
- Overnight Stay in a Dublin Hotel
- €100 Paddy Power bet on the game
- €100 Beer Money (you’ll need a pint after all that hard work!)
- Signed Irish Jersey by the Team & Rala

Check out the Be The BagMan Competition onsite at Paddy Power - just answer a simple Six Nations related question to go in the lucky draw… and here are a few Ts & Cs… Prize applies to the Ireland v Wales 6 Nations Game, Saturday 13th 2010 only. The Prizewinner can be male or female but over 18. One Entry per person. Competition ends midnight Monday 8th March.

You could win a free trip to Las Vegas when you bet GBP10 or more in the Bodog Sportsbook between now and 28 February 2010.

The VIP Package includes
- A luxury trip for 2 to Las Veags
- Return airfares from London
- 3 night stay ay the Bellagio Hotel and Casino
- £500 in spending money

It’s really easy to enter, simply sign up as a new member at Bodog and then bet £10 on any sporting event(s) between now and February 28th - at odds of even money or greater - and you will be entered into the lucky draw.

The crew at Bodog Sportsbook will notify the winners by March 7th, 2010.

(FYI: Bodog is the offical betting & gaming partner of Fulham FC and offers betting markets on all major European football leagues - plus a whole lot more… here’s a link to the best review of Bodog Sportsbook that we could find)

Super Bowl 2010 Odds :
Colts -5.5,
Over/Under 56

When the Saints and the Colts hit the field for the NFL Championship game in Miami this Sunday, there is a good chance that it will be a high scoring affair. Two big time offences will be attack two defences that are not highly ranked and should be able to put up points easily, especially after putting up big numbers against some of the best defences in the league already this offseason.
 
Primetime Performers 
Saints : The New Orleans Saints have been carried on the arm of Drew Brees to their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Posting the second best passer rating, 109.6, since 2005 in route to his best statistical season , this Purdue product lead the league in touchdowns with 34. He has an offensive line that boasts three Pro Bowlers and a talented group of receivers that allows him to spread the ball all over the field. The Austin, Texas native has never been out of the conference championship round of the playoffs, in his nine year career, but one can be sure he will still make a lot of noise on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium.

Colts : Peyton Manning is at the top of the game at reading and reacting to the defence before the ball is ever snapped, leading to a league best 4,500 passing yards in the regular season. Not known for scrambling or avoiding the rush in any manner besides sliding around in the pocket, the Colts QB was only sacked 10 times this year. Tom Brady finished second in that category with 16 and Brees was brought down 20 times. Having already won a Super Bowl in 2006, the four time AP NFL Most Valuable player knows how to deal with the pressure and intensity of the big game.

X-Factors 
Saints : Reggie Bush has been on a tear in the post season, making big plays in each of the Saints’ post-season games. Not only is he a threat on the ground but he is an accomplished receiver out of the backfield.

Those looking for betting tips should know that with the Colts giving up close to 100 yards receiving to running backs over their two playoff games, none of which had the skill of Bush, there is the strong possibility of Reggie adding to his post-season totals of 149 combined yards and two touchdowns.
 
Colts : All-Pro wide-receiver Reggie Wayne should make up for below average numbers in the Conference Championships with a monster day for the Colts. Even though Peyton Manning put up great numbers last game, he only connected with Wayne and tight-end Dallas Clarke for seven receptions and 90 yards combined. These were per game numbers that each of them would put up during the rest of the season. This does not bode well for the Saints defence.

The Matchup 
Before making NFL picks know that in their respective conference championship games the two teams combined for 574 yards and 6 touchdowns through the air en route to 61 total points against the number one and fifth ranked defences in the league of the Jets and Vikings.  When the Colts and Saints meet at Dolphin Stadium, they will bring the 18th and 25th ranked defences, respectively, and this means that the record 75 points, set by San Francisco and San Diego in 1995, for highest scoring Super Bowl could be in jeopardy when these high powered offenses hook up this Sunday.

Betting Pick : Indianapolis Colts to win

Behind the Super Bowl odds and NFL picks, the NBA, NHL and college basketball, not much attention trickles down to the first Grand Slam of the tennis season Down Under.

Here’s a recap of what’s happened so far:

Men’s Recap :
It’s been pretty much the status quo on the men’s side as many of the top seeds are cruising along.

Roger Federer, the top seed, had a bit of a scare in the opening round against Igor Andreev but he managed to hang on. He was one point away from being down two sets to one, but he bounced back and has been fine since.

The only other top seed that has had noticeable trouble was U.S. Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro was taken to extremes in a five set battle with James Blake, which required a 10-8 effort in the third set to get the job done.

Aside from that, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko have been cruising right along.

Women’s Recap :
Not many people need expert betting tips to know that the women’s side is more volatile than the men’s and we have seen that so far.

On Thursday, Kim Clijsters, who was one of the tournament favorites, was ousted. The U.S. Open winner was considered to be a serious contender for this Slam as well but No. 19 seed Nadia Petrova took her out very quickly.

Speaking of being ousted quickly, Russian star Maria Sharapova was also escorted out early once again in a Grand Slam. Last year, she had the shoulder to blame and she battled through the injury all season long. Now she has nothing to blame except for her poor form, which cost her in the first round.

Former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic also lost in the second round, adding to her string of disappointing exits since her big win.

Title Picks :
Overall, the pick on the men’s side is Rafael Nadal as he seems to own the men’s side when he’s healthy now and on the women’s side, Serena Williams is the selection. Until shown otherwise, she has to be the pick. Justine Henin has also played well but Serena is very dominant in Australia.

Sports Betting Picks : Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams

The Super Bowl line still has the Indianapolis Colts favored after two rounds of the playoffs and there is little reason to believe that it will change the rest of the way.

A lot of people are wondering if the Colts should have taken care of business – in other words, disposed of the New York Jets – when they had the chance back in Week 15 but the reality is that the Jets did the Colts a favor.

The Colts don’t have to face the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship and thanks to the Baltimore Ravens, they don’t have to face the New England Patriots either. Those have been the two toughest teams for the Colts. This game should be easier.

Last Week
The Colts were big favorites over the Baltimore Ravens and they took care of business rather easily. The Ravens brought their running game to town and left with it and their tail between their legs. Baltimore was extremely sloppy with the football, turning it over a few times and the end result was a 20-3 Colts win.

Meanwhile, the Jets were the biggest underdog on the board last week in San Diego and they were particularly impressive. For a second straight week, the Jets ran all over an opponent and played good defense. They won 17-14 but they really won on the strength of three Nate Kaeding missed field goals. In a three-point game, it’s hard to argue that the Jets didn’t get lucky.

This Week
The NFL odds don’t favor the Jets this week and for a third week in a row, they are an underdog. They upset the Cincinnati Bengals, then the San Diego Chargers, but doing the same to the No. 1 seed in the AFC will be their toughest test. For starters, the Jets are on the road for the third straight week and that’s always difficult. Fatigue tends to creep in when teams are forced to travel around so much.

The Colts have to do one thing to win this game: stop the Jets running attack. When teams are typically this one dimensional, they end up losing at these points in the season.

With Peyton Manning, a lethal passing game and an underrated defense, the Colts will be too much for the Jets.

NFL Pick : Take the INDIANAPOLIS Colts -7.5 to win and cover 

Arizona Cardinals @ New Orleans Saints
NFC Divisonal Playoffs
Bookmaker Line : Saints -7
NFL Betting Total : 56.5

The Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints are expected to be in quite the shootout this week. As you can tell, the sports betting odds makers have set the odds for the over/under at 56.5, which gives you an idea of what type of style they believe this game will be.

The Cardinals and their first-round opponent, the Green Bay Packers, combined for 96 points in the Wild Card weekend, and the Saints are quite the high-scoring outfit themselves, so there is little reason to believe that this game won’t be as high-scoring.

From the Cardinals perspective, they better hope their defense finds some answers in the week between games. They allowed 500+ yards to the Packers and gave up 45 points at home, which isn’t even the biggest concern. The Cardinals had a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, then also led 31-10 in the third quarter and led 38-24 entering the fourth quarter.

Even with such huge leads, the Cardinals still couldn’t hold on and allowed the Packers all the way back.

The Cards have had some trouble with big leads a few times down the stretch of the season. They allowed the Detroit Lions to come up off the mat after a 17-0 lead and then allowed the St. Louis Rams to hang around the following week as well.

Considering they are going up against Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey this week, they better figure out their deficiencies really quickly.

If the Packers exposed one thing last week it’s that the Cardinals simply don’t have much depth in the secondary. They are good in run defense but against teams who line up with multiple receiving weapons, they are going to have problems.

Inconveniently, the Saints have that many weapons.

The experience edge will definitely be on the Cardinals side as their team went to the Super Bowl last year but don’t forget that this Saints team has also been to the NFC Championship a few years back. Drew Brees and Sean Payton were on that team, so they’ll be familiar with the playoff atmosphere.

This game will be close but a bye week should be the difference. The Saints will be just a bit crisper in this game.

NFL Betting Pick : Saints -7

But the Cardinals are banged up and the Packers simply might be too good for them. Home field advantage will have to be the key if that’s not the case.

Why The Packers Can Win
The Packers have a prolific offense, they come into the game winning seven of their last eight contests, their defense is ranked third in the NFL and they led the league in turnover ratio. Is that enough for you?

What’s even scarier to expert sports handicapping sharps is the fact that the Packers were much better down the stretch of the season. Early on, they struggled to run the ball and protect Rodgers but those leaks were plugged up. The offensive line is playing much better and this team will be tough to beat.

Why The Cardinals Can Win
Because they are still playing at home. Sure, they don’t have the better defense and health is not on their side, but they face similar disparities in the postseason last year and they still managed to come out on top in the NFC.

Kurt Warner has far more playoff experience than Aaron Rodgers and if Warner plays his game and Rodgers is slightly off, that may be all the difference that is needed. Warner to Larry Fitzgerald was a lethal combo in the postseason last year and there is a good chance it will be again.

What Will Happen?
The Cardinals are at home but that won’t be enough. They’ll come out hot after a disheartening effort last week but the Packers have too many advantages in this game to blow it. Experience will be a factor for the first half but talent will be the difference in the end.

The Packers have the better offense since Anquan Boldin is going to be limited, they clearly have the better defense and they are sounder fundamentally. That’s enough to get a big road win in the playoffs.

NFL Pick : Packers -1