Michigan State moves into finals

Chockey Betting Lines

04/05/2007 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Mueller had a goal and an assist to help the Michigan State Spartans advance to their first championship game since 1987 with a 4-2 win over the Maine Black Bears in the Frozen Four.

Nick Sucharski, Chris Snavely and Kim McKenzie all lit the lamp for the Spartans (25-14-3), who will play the winner of the North Dakota/Boston College game later on Thursday.

Jeff Lerg finished with 29 saves for Michigan State, which last won a national title in 1986.

Josh Soares and Keith Johnson each had a goal and an assist and Ben Bishop finished with 29 saves for the Black Bears (23-15-2), who defeated Michigan State in last season's East Regional final, 5-4.

The championship game will be played on Saturday.

Maine initially grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first when Johnson scored just 23 seconds in and a little over three minutes later Soares scored on a shot from the slot through traffic.

However, the Spartans scored four unanswered goals to win the game.

Mueller got his team on the board when he banged the puck out of mid-air into the net to make it a 2-1 game at the 7:25 mark of the first.

Michigan State tied the game with the only goal of the second period when Snavely scored to make it a 2-2 game.

The Spartans grabbed their first lead of the game as Sucharski jammed the puck into the net during a jam in front for a 3-2 advantage 5:11 into the third.

McKenzie sealed the win for the Spartans when he snapped a wrister on the fly from the left circle that Bishop stopped, but the rebound went right back to McKenzie and he buried it in the back of the net with 10:14 to play.

It is the fifth time in school history that Michigan State will appear in the championship game.

Wwwbullysports Chockey Betting News

<< '07 Preview: Crew looking to go from worst to first
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's pretty obvious that the Columbus Crew would like to improve on its 2006 season. Last season, the Crew finished with the worst record in Major League Soccer at 8-15-9 in head coach Sigi Schmid's first s

<< Masters week is never easy for Charles Howell
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charles Howell III was in the middle of a swing change when he shot 80-84 in the first two rounds of last year's Masters to finish dead last before the cut. It was Howell's fifth trip to the Masters, and Au

<< McBraves sweep Phils
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McCann drove in two more runs and Kelly Johnson highlighted a six-run fifth inning with a two-run homer, as the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game series sweep of the Philadelphia Phillie

<< Redskins ink CB Macklin
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins signed cornerback David Macklin on Thursday. Macklin spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, after spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Indiana

<< Saints release K Carney
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran kicker John Carney asked for and was granted his release by the New Orleans Saints on Thursday. Carney requested the release after the Saints traded a sixth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft to th

Huggins leaves K-State for West Virginia >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bob Huggins is heading back to his alma mater as he is leaving Kansas State to take over the men's basketball team at West Virginia. "This is a tough day for the entire K-State nation," said athletics dir

What they're saying at the Masters >>
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round at this year's Masters turned out to be one of the toughest in history. But as Augusta native Charles Howell III said, "I've never seen it easy out here." Here's what some others were saying T

Diamondbacks OF Hairston leaves game >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona outfielder Scott Hairston left Thursday's game against the Nationals when he fouled a ball off his left leg. With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the first, Hairston fouled a pitch

Eustachy gets extension at Southern Miss >>
Hattiesburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Mississippi has given men's basketball coach Larry Eustachy a two-year contract extension that will run through the 2010-2011 season. The extension, which will include a substantial raise

Phillies acquire Rosario from Toronto >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies acquired right- handed pitcher Francisco Rosario from the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, in exchange for cash considerations. The 26-year-old Rosario went 1-2 with a 6.65 ER

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.