Oilers to honor Messier against Gretzky's Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will begin their four-game homestand in style tonight, when they honor Mark Messier before taking on the Phoenix Coyotes at Rexall Place.

The Oilers will retire Messier's No. 11 jersey in a pre-game ceremony this evening and fittingly, Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky will be there to witness the special night. Messier will join Gretzky as one of six Edmonton players (Al Hamilton, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr and Paul Coffey) to have their numbers retired.

Messier won six Stanley Cup championships in his career, five with Edmonton and one with the New York Rangers in 1994. The last title with the Oilers came in 1990, when Gretzky had already been traded to Los Angeles.

The St. Albert, Alberta native is the second all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 1,887 points (694 goals, 1,193 assists), trailing only Gretzky.

The Oilers are the second team to have retired Messier's number, after the Rangers raised his sweater to the rafters last year.

Edmonton hopes that Messier's big night will give the team a much-needed boost in the playoff race. The defending Western Conference champion Oilers currently have 66 points and trail Calgary and Minnesota by nine for the final postseason berths in the West.

Edmonton had won two straight before dropping a decision in Minnesota on Sunday. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had a goal and an assist as the Wild defeated the Oilers, 4-1, at Xcel Energy Center.

Fernando Pisani scored the lone goal for the Oilers, who finished their seven- game road trip with a 2-3-2 mark. Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves in defeat for Edmonton.

The Oilers are 18-11-2 as the home team this year and will also battle Minnesota, Calgary and Tampa Bay on this stand.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes have dropped seven of their last eight games and were handed a decisive loss Monday in Calgary. Wayne Primeau scored twice as the Flames downed Phoenix, 5-2, at the Saddledome.

Yanic Perreault and Steven Reinprecht each had a goal for the Coyotes, who are 20 points behind Minnesota and Calgary for the conference's last playoff spots.

Phoenix is playing the middle test of a three-game road trip tonight. The Coyotes have lost five straight as the visiting team and are 12-20-1 away from Arizona this year.

Edmonton is 2-1 against the Coyotes this season and has taken four of the last five overall meetings with Phoenix.

Wwwattheraces Hockey Betting News

<< Avs host Blue Jackets in battle between struggling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to end a three-game slide tonight, when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche's latest setback came Sunday evening in Anaheim, as Scott Niedermay

<< Red Wings aim for another victory in Chicago
(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 visit

<< Mavs shoot for win No. 13 at Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA-best Dallas Mavericks try to extend their winning streak to 13 games when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at the Target Center. All-Star Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds t

<< Golden State opens trek at Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors begin a five-game road trip when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at the Bradley Center. This is the second and final meeting of the campaign between the clubs. On December 2nd, Mauric

<< Wizards close out trip in Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeast Division-leading Washington Wizards wrap up a three-game road trip when they visit the New Jersey Nets tonight at Continental Airlines Arena. Washington is 0-2 on the swing. On Sunday, Kevin Garne

Sabres get new backup goaltender in Conklin >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Moments after dealing backup goaltender Martin Biron, the Buffalo Sabres found his replacement by acquiring veteran netminder Ty Conklin from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a fifth-round choice in the

U.S. MNT adds another friendly; Board approves 2018 World Cup bid >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. Men's National Team has scheduled another friendly prior to the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. The team will return to the Bay Area on June 2 to take on China at Spartan Stadium in San Jose,

This Week in Auto Racing - March 3 - March 4 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is an off week for NASCAR Nextel Cup teams many of whom can use the time to fix their early season problems. Meanwhile, the Busch Series travels to Mexico City for its annual road-course race so

Avs D Skrastins out 7-10 days >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado defenseman Karlis Skrastins will miss seven to 10 days with a knee sprain suffered in the team's shootout loss to the Kings on Saturday. "An MRI test done Monday confirmed that it's a knee s

Sharks land Guerin in deadline deal >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks made a deal to bolster their offense, as they acquired veteran winger Bill Guerin from the St. Louis Blues just hours before Tuesday's trade deadline. In return for Guerin, the Blu

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.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting