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02/23/2007 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres engaged in a full-scale brawl with 5:13 played in the second period of their contest Thursday at HSBC Arena.
The trouble began with Buffalo ahead 3-2, and just under five minutes played in the period. Senators forward Chris Neil steamrolled Sabres forward Chris Drury with what appeared to be a clean, but late check with a dropped shoulder a fraction of a second after Drury passed the puck to a teammate deep in the Buffalo zone.
Drury was knocked to the ice, and had to leave the game with a deep cut above his left eye.
In defense of his fallen teammate, Buffalo forward Drew Stafford engaged Neil in a fight. Both men were sent off for five minutes, but the nastiness continued.
On the ensuing faceoff, Sabres defenseman Adam Mair tried to bait Sens forward Jason Spezza into a fight, then Buffalo defenseman Andrew Peters went after Ottawa's Dany Heatley, and all 12 skaters on the ice combined for a melee which also involved both goaltenders.
Senators netminder Ray Emery skated the length of the ice to tangle with his Sabres counterpart Martin Biron, then following a brief dance with Biron, he traded punches in a spirited bout with Peters.
Heated words were also exchanged between Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff and Ottawa head coach Bryan Murray, who each leaned over their respective benches to point fingers and trade verbal barbs.
When order was restored, Emery and Biron hit the showers after receiving game misconducts, and the Senators were awarded a two-man advantage as both Peters and Mair were assessed extra penalties for instigation.
A total of 110 penalty minutes resulted from the tussle, with Buffalo receiving 63 of them.
<< Del Rio: Leftwich is our guy
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio
ended any speculation about who would be the Jaguars' starting quarterback
on Thursday, naming Byron Leftwich as the team's starting signal caller for
the 200
<< Wade could be out several weeks
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat All-Star guard Dwyane Wade could be
sidelined several weeks because of a dislocated left shoulder suffered in
Thursday's 112-102 loss at Houston.
Wade flew back to Miami on a private plane an
<< Funk fires 62 to lead Mayakoba Golf Classic
Quintana Roo, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifty-year-old Fred Funk made seven
birdies in his first 12 holes and shot an eight-under 62 Thursday in the first
round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Funk, a winner last month on the Champions To
<< Seahawks slap franchise tag on Josh Brown
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks placed the franchise
tag on kicker Josh Brown on Thursday, guaranteeing that the team will offer
the clutch kicker at least the average salary of the top five kickers in the
NFL, o
Wesley's first goal in over a year leads Carolina past Philly >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Wesley ended his 82-game scoring drought
in style, finding the back of the net 16 seconds into overtime with Carolina
down a man as the Hurricanes rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia
Flyers.
Lightning zap Thrashers in OT >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner with
1:16 left in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a big 5-4 win over
Atlanta to move one point ahead of the Thrashers for first place in the
Southea
Arenas leads Wizards over Kings >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Arenas scored 43 points and
Washington overcame a monumental collapse in the fourth quarter and a waived-
off three-pointer at the buzzer by Sacramento's John Salmons to post a 109-106
win at
Deng, Wallace lead defensive-minded Bulls over Cavs >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luol Deng scored 18 points, and Ben Wallace
had a 14-point, 19-rebound, seven-block performance as the Chicago Bulls
outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers, 84-78.
Ben Gordon scored 16 points and grabbed
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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