Blues solve Mason, down Blue Jackets

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01/03/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Steen had a goal and two assists while Manny Legace made 20 saves as the St. Louis Blues downed the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2, at Scottrade Center.

Brandon Crombeen had a goal and an assist while Brad Winchester, Keith Tkachuk and T.J. Oshie each had a goal for the Blues, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Mike Commodore and Fredrik Modin both lit the lamp for the Blue Jackets, who came into the game with a four-game winning streak. Steve Mason was charged with five goals on 27 shots in the loss.

Winchester scored a power-play goal at the 2:10 mark of the first period on a wrist shot and Crombeen made it a 2-0 game with a backhander past Mason while shorthanded at the 5:41 mark of the first.

Commodore got the Blue Jackets on the board at 7:03 of the first as his snap shot found the back of the net and Modin tied it with 7:40 left in the first on a wrister past Legace.

St. Louis took the lead 6:39 into the second period on the power play. Carlo Colaiacovo blasted a shot from the high slot that was stopped, but Tkachuk was at his usual spot in front of the net and he slammed home the rebound.

The Blues' defense did an effective job in the second period and limited Columbus to just three shots on net, all of which Legace stopped.

St. Louis gave itself some breathing room with about 12 minutes to play in the game with another power play goal as Steen sent a one-touch pass from the right circle to the left where Oshie wristed it home.

Steen gave St. Louis its fourth power-play goal of the game in the final minute of the contest as he tucked home a pass from the right side of the net to account for the final score.

Game Notes

The Blues have off until Friday when they will play in Vancouver...Columbus plays in Detroit on Tuesday...The Blues have won four straight against Columbus...St. Louis finished the game 4-for-9 on the power play while Columbus went 0-for-5...Rick Nash had two assists for Columbus while Modin also logged a helper.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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