I’ve been watching hockey since back when there were only 21 NHL teams, 16 of which made the playoffs.  So it’s pretty hard for me to get psyched up for a regular season game.  The early Super Bowl Sunday matinee between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins was a rare and glorious exception.

The Penguins got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and assisted on the game-winner in overtime.  With the victory the Capitals have won 14 consecutive games, tying the 1929-1930 Boston Bruins for third longest win streak in NHL history.  While it’s certainly a little easier to put together a win streak since the NHL changed its rules and replaced ties with shootouts, this was only the second overtime win of Washington’s current streak.

I grew up as a pro wrestling fan, and every wrestling fan knows about those moments where something happens that makes you ashamed of your fandom.  While I haven’t watched the WWE in ages one thing that comes immediately to mind is octogenarian Mae Young ‘giving birth’ to a fake hand.  Really, there were countless angles from that era that made me ashamed.  Any time that Vince McMahon pulled down his pants on national TV.  Watching Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior try to ‘work’ a match.  Dating back to the WCW era, the Black Scorpion angle or the infamous Robocop ‘run in’.   As a wrestling fan, you already know that a lot of people aren’t going to ‘get it’.  The ‘moments of shame’ transcend this and seriously makes you question if your investment in the ’sport’ has been worth it.

The sportsbooks have a decent slate of NHL betting opportunities on the board, and we’ll head north of the border as the San Jose Sharks head to the Air Canada Centre to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.  And, no, I have no idea what is going on in the picture accompanying the article.  It’s not Darryl Sittler or Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams, that’s for sure…

Matchup here between one of the league’s best teams against one of the worst. The San Jose Sharks are leading the Western Conference by four points over Chicago.  Sharks have been tearing it up lately, with a 8-1-1 mark in their last 10 games but there’s only one problem–they’ve actually lost ground in the chase for the best overall record in the league as the Washington Capitals just don’t lose any more (Caps have now won 14 straight games).  Toronto, meanwhile, is tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with Carolina.  Unfortunately for the Leafs, the Hurricanes are heading in the opposite direction–Carolina has won 7 of 10 while Toronto has only 3 wins in their last 10 games.

Well, the Superbowl is over and now we can get back to the day in/day out work of profitable sports betting.  As has happened after every Superbowl, the sportsbooks are open for business again today and there’s at least a few games on the board for us to work with.  We’ll look to the Big East for a college basketball betting opportunity as Villanova takes on West Virginia.

West Virginia is always on the list of top party schools because, frankly, there’s nothing to do there except drink heavily and indulge in the sort of frenzied depravity that those of us in a more urbane and sophisticated environments can only imagine.  A morally upstanding site such as Sports Untapped is clearly not the place to try and describe the perversion and debauchery that takes place on the West Virginia campus every day of the week.   That is one of the reasons its such a difficult place for opposing teams to play; few college aged athletes are ready for the sordid and tawdry environment in which they must compete.  I’m not a moralist and it is not my place to judge this acquiescence to the most base of human instincts but as a handicapper it is my duty to be aware of it.

When all was said and done, it wasn’t too shabby a way to close out the 2009 NFL season. The Colts and Saints went toe-to-toe for four quarters with N’awlins prevailing 31-17, in what will be considered by the football pundits an upset.

I’ve seen much worse Super Bowls, like say the Steelers-Seahawks horror show a few years back. I’ve also seen better, like last year’s nail-biter between the Steelers and Cardinals. History will likely stash Big Game 44 somewhere in the middle of the pack. It lacked the necessary drama and entertainment value to be considered one of the best, but it certainly can’t be called a flop. Watching Peyton Manning lose a game he was supposed to win made it worth the price of admission.