Eriksson leads Dallas into Ottawa

Hockey Betting Lines

12/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a season filled with losses and injuries, Loui Eriksson is providing the Stars with a little bit of excitement. The 23-year-old will try to light the lamp for a third straight game tonight in Dallas' road matchup with the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

Eriksson followed up the third two-goal game of his season with his first- career hat trick on Thursday in a 6-5 shootout win over Columbus. The Swede's five-goal outburst over his last two games has given him a career-high 17 markers on the season. He netted 14 goals in 69 games last year after notching six in his 59-game rookie season in 2006-07.

Brad Richards also scored on Thursday in addition to posting three assists. He found the back of the net as Dallas' first skater in the shootout as well and Mike Ribeiro, who had a pair of assists in regulation, later sealed the win with a goal of his own in the extra session.

Marty Turco made 23 saves prior to the shootout, though Columbus felt he was bailed out by a bad call. The Blue Jackets' Manny Malhotra appeared to have won the game 13 seconds into overtime, but it was ruled by the officials that he used a kicking motion to direct the puck into the net.

Dallas' victory was its second in a row and sixth in its last nine games, though the team is still last in the Pacific Division with 30 points just one season after its run to the Western Conference finals.

However, injuries to Jere Lehtinen (upper body), captain Brenden Morrow (knee) and Sergei Zubov (hip) amongst others have slowed down the club. Zubov, in fact, will undergo surgery that will sideline him indefinitely.

Steve Ott (hand) and Joel Lundqvist (shoulder) were activated from injured reserve prior to Thursday's game, with Lundqvist providing two assists.

Dallas is 6-9-1 on the road this year and will also host Toronto on Tuesday.

Goal scoring has been a problem for Ottawa this year, including last night when they were handed a 5-1 setback by New Jersey. It was the Senators second straight loss and fifth in six games. They are getting outscored 20-8 over that time span.

Jarkko Ruutu had the only goal for Ottawa, a short-handed tally off assists from Chris Kelly and Chris Phillips. Alex Auld surrendered all five goals on 26 shots in the loss.

The defeat dropped the Senators to 3-8-2 on the road this year, but the club is a much better 8-6-3 as the host. However, following tonight's game Ottawa will play its next eight games on the road and won't return to Scotiabank Place until January 10.

The Stars have won three of their last five versus the Senators, but lost the most recent matchup, 4-2, in Dallas on December 7 of last season.

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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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