One top seed for these NHL playoffs is one win away from advancing to its conference finals; the other top seed is one loss away from elimination. 

One seven seed is one victory away from winning a second-straight series, while the other seven seed needs a victory to stay alive.

And the defending champs, who were given at best a slim of repeating, are one win away from advancing to the conference finals.

All of which should make for an interesting weekend of NHL Stanley Cup playoff betting for all the puckheads out there.

This weekend's icy action begins Friday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins, the top seed in the East and up three games to one, look to put the Ottawa Senators out of their misery when the teams meet for Game 5 at the CEC (7:30 pm ET).

Pittsburgh won the first two games of this series at home, lost Game 3 in Ottawa, then scored four times in the first half of the third period Wednesday night to win 7-3.

If the Senators can push this series to a Game 6 it will be played Sunday in Ottawa.

Saturday the other Eastern Conference semifinals series could be decided, as the fourth-seeded Boston Bruins, up three games to one, shoot to eliminate the sixth-seeded New York Rangers at the Beantown Garden (5:30 pm ET).

Boston took the first three games of this series, but New York staved off elimination with a 4-3 overtime victory Thursday night.

Also Saturday in the Western Conference the seventh-seeded Detroit Red Wings will look to finish off the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks when the teams meet for their Game 5 at the United Center (8 pm ET).

Chicago won the opener of this series, but Detroit has won the last three games by a total score of 9-2.

Finally, in the other West semifinals series, the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, who entered these playoffs as a five seed, will try to eliminate the sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks when the teams meet for their Game 6 Sunday at The Tank.

LA won the first two games of this series at home, before San Jose won the next two games on its home ice. The Kings then took a 3-2 series lead with a 3-0 victory at Staples Center Thursday night.

On the NHL futures betting market, Bodog is chalking the Penguins as 3/2 favorites to win the Stanley Cup, followed by the Kings at 7/2, the Bruins and Red Wings at 5/1, the Blackhawks at 10/1, the Sharks at 14/1, the Rangers at 40/1 and the Senators at 75/1.  

Orb drew the post position that has seen only one winner since 1960 and Preakness Stakes oddsmakers didn’t flinch.

Orb remained the huge 1-1 favorite to follow up his Kentucky Derby victory with another win, despite getting the rail position for Saturday’s race.

Only Tabasco Cat in 1994 has won from that position since Bally Ache did it way back in 1960. You know, before John F. Kennedy became president.

The second betting choice in Preakness Stakes betting at Bovada for 2013 is Mylute, who ran fourth in the Kentucky Derby. He is 5-1, while Departing – winner of four of his five career starts – was the third betting choice at 6-1.

With just a nine-horse field, drawing the inside position may be less of an in issue. And Orb seems to be the class of the field with plenty of horse wagering action on the Shug McGaughey trainee.

 “The No. 1 post in the Kentucky Derby is more of a problem than the Preakness, despite what the statistics say,” said Michael Dempsey of TurfnSport.com

“And don’t forget Orb broke from the rail in his Fountain of Youth win at Gulfstream Park, defeating heavily favored Violence.”

Recent Preakness Winners

Year

Winner

PP

Jockey

Trainer

Time

Odds

2012

I'll Have Another

9

M. Gutierrez

D. Oneil

01:55.9

3

2011

Shackleford

5

J. Castanon

D. Romans

01:56.5

12.6

2010

Lookin at Lucky

7

M. Garcia

B. Baffert

01:55.5

2.4

2009

Rachel Alexandra

13

C. Borel

S. Asmussen

01:55.1

1.8

2008

Big Brown

7

K. Desormeaux

R. Dutrow Jr.

01:54.8

0.2

2007

Curlin

4

R. Albarado

S. Asmussen

01:53.5

3.4

2006

Bernardini

8

J. Castellano

T. Albertrani

01:54.6

12.9

2005

Afleet Alex

12

J. Rose

T. Ritchey

01:55.0

3.3

2004

Smarty Jones

7

S. Elliott

J. Servis

01:55.6

0.7

2003

Funny Cide

9

J. Santos

B. Tagg

01:55.6

1.9

2002

War Emblem

8

V. Espinoza

B. Baffert

01:56.4

2.8

2001

Point Given

11

G. Stevens

B. Baffert

01:55.5

2.3

 

 

The Kansas City Royals made some upgrades over the off-season and so far things are working out; KC sits just a half-game out of first place in the AL Central.

This weekend the Royals get a chance to prove themselves worthy of at least mention when it comes to contender status when they host the AL East-leading New York Yankees for three games at Kauffman Stadium, starting Friday night.

KC just dropped two of three games in Baltimore, but before that the Royals hadn't lost a series since losing two of three to Toronto nearly a month ago. So in its quest for its first winning season in a decade KC is off to an 18-13 start and this is reflected in the MLB betting odds for their weekend action.

That start has also helped Royals backers pocket a profit of $580 so far this season, based on those theoretical $100 wagers on each game.

New York, meanwhile, has coped well without the likes of Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson to win 20 of its first 33 games. So the Yanks enter the weekend tied for first place in the AL East with Boston and Baltimore.

As of Friday morning baseball betting outlets were listing KC as a -135 favorite to win this series, with New York getting +115. Also, the OVER/UNDER on total runs for this series was proffered at 25.

Also this weekend around MLB betting the AL Central-leading Tigers were -280 favorites for their series against the 18-14 Indians (+230); the 21-14 Orioles, part of that three-way tie atop the AL East, were -115 favorites for their series at the 16-15 Twins (-105); the NL Central-leading Cardinals were favored by -240 for their series at home over the 19-15 Rockies; and the 16-18 Padres, who have won  11 of their last 14 games, were lined as +165 underdogs for their inter-league series at the 16-18 Rays.

How much wood would a Wood Memorial winner win if a Wood winner would win the Kentucky Derby?

That’s a silly twist on the woodchuck tongue twister, but it begs the question since Derby favorite Verrazano’s last win was the Wood Memorial on April 6: why do winners of that historic race never seem to perform well a few weeks later when they run for the roses at Churchill Downs?

And what is the recent hex that has seen three of the past four Wood Memorial winners sustain injuries and unable to fulfill their duty as leading Kentucky Derby contenders?

Since 2004, the Wood has been a springboard for 19 Kentucky Derby starters. But none of them finished any better than a fourth in those nine races.

“Maybe it is a curse or just really bad luck,” said veteran handicapper Michael Dempsey of TurfnSport.com, who has covered the New York circuit for three decades.

The last time a Wood Memorial winner turned out to be a successful bet on the Kentucky Derby, it was Fusaichi Pegasus back in 2000.

Verrazano, the top betting choice at 4-1 according to OddsShark.com Derby odds page, is unbeaten in four starts including the Wood and the Tampa Bay Derby back in March.

“Verrazano has been the early betting favorite for months, and is likely going to be sent off as the favorite on Derby Day, but his Wood was not that fast,” said Dempsey. “And remember his trainer Todd Pletcher has a bit of a curse going as well, as he is just 1-for-33 in the Derby.”

A year ago, Gemologist won the Wood but was a disappointing 16^th in the Derby after going off at 6-1 odds. “He was highly regarded and was sent off as the third choice, and he just did not fire,” said Dempsey.

In the three years before that, Wood winners Toby’s Corner, Eskendereya and I Want Revenge all came up a bit lame on the first Saturday in May and did not run.

Since Fusaichi Pegasus’s win, no Wood runner has finished higher than fourth at Churchill Downs.

 “Both I Want Revenge and Eskendereya would have been the betting favorites, and although Toby’s Corner would have been more of a price, I liked that colt too,” added Dempsey, who was recently introduced as the main handicapping voice at USRacebook.com.

The Pirates go for a sweep of the Diamondbacks Wednesday, the Rangers shoot for a sweep of the Rays and the Giants go for the sweep of the Rockies, while the Reds and Cardinals, Phillies and Mets, and Brewers and Cubs play rubber matches.

Here's a quick look at some of what's happening in baseball over the next couple of days, with some MLB betting odds for contemplation.

Texas (6-2) has taken the first two games of its series with Tampa (3-5) in Arlington by scores of 5-4 and 6-1. For Wednesday's game (2 pm ET) the Rangers with lefty Derek Holland were early -125 favorites over the Rays with lefty Matt Moore.

Defending World Series champion San Francisco has won the first two games of its series at home with Colorado by scores of 4-2 and 9-6. So the Giants have now beaten the Rockies 24 of the last 30 times the teams have met.

For Wednesday's series finale San Fran (5-3) with lefty Barry Zito was an early -135 favorite over the Rocks (5-3) with lefty Jeff Francis. 

Philly lost to New York's Matt Harvey Monday night, then bombed Dillon Gee Tuesday night. As for Wednesday's series rubber match (7 pm ET) the Phillies (3-5) with Kyle Kendrick were early -125 chalk over the Mets (5-3) with Jeremy Hefner.

Milwaukee won at Wrigley Field Monday 7-4, then lost Tuesday 6-3. For Wednesday's series finale (8 pm ET) the Brewers (2-6) with newcomer Kyle Lohse hitting the hill were early -115 favorites over the Cubbies (3-5) with newcomer Scott Feldman.

Looking ahead to Thursday the Giants and Cubs begin a four-game weekend series in Chicago; the Yankees finish off a four-game series in Cleveland; the Blue Jays, off to a 2-5 start, finish a three-game series in Detroit; the Orioles and Red Sox complete a three-game set at Fenway; the A's and Angels finish off a three-game series at the Big A; and the White Sox and Nationals play the final match of their three-game series in DC.

Watch for live lines on over unders and runlines as well as live wagering on key matchups.

The first weekend of the baseball season offers up some cherce betting opportunities, with several good series match-ups to choose from.

Among them, the Tigers and Yankees meet in an AL championship series re-match; the Cardinals and Giants meet in an NLCS re-match; the Angels and Rangers begin their season rivalry; and the Nationals hit Cincy to take on the Reds.

What are the MLB odds looking like for those wanting to learn how to bet on baseball? Check out the details below.

The banged-up Yanks, who just escaped getting swept by the Red Sox, will shoot for better results against the Tigers, who swept New York out of the ALCS last Fall. Detroit opened this season by losing two of three games in Minnesota, scoring eight runs total in the process.

The Yanks will throw Ivan Nova for Friday's series opener in Detroit, David Phelps Saturday and CC Sabathia Sunday, while the Tigers will go with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

As of Friday AM Detroit was listed at -290 to win this series at Bovada.lv, with the Yankees getting +230.

Out in San Francisco the defending World Series champion Giants, who opened this season by taking two of three games from the rival Dodgers, will look to pull a repeat of their NLCS victory over the Cardinals.

St. Louis opened this season by losing two of three games in Arizona, and is already playing without both SS Rafael Furcal and closer Jason Motte, among others.

The Cardinals will send Jake Westbrook to the mound for Friday's series opener, Shelby Miller Saturday and Adam Wainwright Sunday, while San Fran will counter with Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain.

In the early betting, the Giants were favored by -150 to win this series, with St. Louis getting +120.

Also for this weekend the Rangers were a -130 favorite to win their series at home versus the Angels (+100); the Reds were favored by -125 for their series at home against the Nats (-105); the 1-2 Brewers were favored by -130 at home over the 2-1 Diamondbacks (+100); the Dodgers were chalked at -300 for their series at home over the Pirates (+240); and the Blue Jays were favored by -175 for their series at home over the 2-1 Red Sox.

Watch for line moves at sportsbooks such as Bovada.lv.

Louisville continues to win and continues to cover point spreads and their winning ways have made them a popular choice among March Madness prop bets in 2013.

The Cardinals, a No. 1 bracket seed, are 3/1 odds to win the tournament, according to the NCAA basketball tournament props listed by Bodog.

They are favored to win the Midwest Regional and Russ Smith is the 5/1 choice to be named the Most Outstanding Player according to player props.

Check out the full list of Madness props, courtesy of Bodog.eu.

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship 

Louisville #1                   3/1

Florida #3                      19/4

Indiana #1                     5/1

Miami Florida #2            15/2

Ohio State #2                15/2

Michigan #4                   11/1

Duke #2                        12/1

Kansas #1                     12/1

Michigan State #3          14/1

Arizona #6                     18/1

Syracuse #4                  20/1

Oregon #12                   33/1

Marquette #3                 40/1

Wichita State #9            40/1

LaSalle #13                   66/1

Florida Gulf Coast #15    75/1

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Midwest Region  

Louisville #1                   5/7

Duke #2                        11/4

Michigan State #3          7/2

Oregon #12                   9/1

Odds to win the 2013 NCAAB West Region     

Ohio State #2                1/1

Arizona #6                     2/1

Wichita State #9            13/4

LaSalle #13                   9/1

Odds to win the 2013 NCAAB South Region    

Kansas #1                     5/2

Florida #3                      4/5

Michigan #4                   5/2

Florida Gulf Coast #15    15/1

Odds to win the 2013 NCAAB East Region      

Indiana #1                     1/1

Miami Florida #2            2/1

Syracuse #4                  15/4

Marquette #3                 7/1

Who will win the NCAAB Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player? 

Russ Smith (Louisville)               5/1

Victor Oladipo (Indiana)              6/1

Cody Zeller (Indiana)                   8/1

Peyton Siva (Louisville)               8/1

Aaron Craft (Ohio State)             9/1

Deshaun Thompson (Ohio State) 9/1

Shane Larkin (Miami Florida)       10/1

Jeff Withey (Kansas)                  15/1

Seth Curry (Duke)                      12/1

Travis Releford (Kansas)             20/1

Erik Murphy (Florida)                  18/1

Mason Plumlee (Duke)               25/1

Gary Harris (Michigan State)       25/1

Derrick Nix (Michingan State)      25/1

C.J. Fair (Syracuse)                   35/1

Mark Lyons (Arizona)                 35/1

James Sutherland (Syracuse)     35/1

Vander Blue (Marquette)             80/1

Daymeon Dotson (Oregon)          80/1

Ramone Galloway (Lasalle)         125/1

Sherman Brown (Florida Gulf Coast)125/1

Field                                         10/1

Will a #1 Seed win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament?              

Yes                  -110

No                    -130

Will a #2 Seed win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament?              

Yes                  +250

No                    -400

Will a #3 Seed win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament?              

Yes                  +200

No                    -300

Every year, a new batch of teams appear in the March Madness bracket and in the college basketball betting odds menus.

And every year, some of the same teams following the same trends – to the Final Four or to the upset scrap heap in the first round.

Check out some of the March Madness betting trends courtesy of the Bovada Sports Betting blog.

Florida 9-3 ATS past 12 tournament games

Davidson 6-2 ATS past 8 Madness games

Gonzaga OVER is 8-2 past 10 tournament games

Indiana 6-1 ATS past 7 first-round games

Louisville 4-0-1 ATS last year in Madness

Marquette 3-6 ATS past 9 first-round games

Marquette UNDER is 5-1 past 6 March Madness games

Memphis OVER is 10-2 past 12 tournament games

Memphis 1-4 ATS past 5 first-round games

Missouri OVER is 12-2-1 past 15 tournament games

Missouri 1-4 ATS past 5 tournament games

Notre Dame 1-7 ATS past 8 tournament games

Notre Dame UNDER is 8-1-1 past 10 tournament games

Ohio State 13-5 SU in tournament since 2007

UNLV 0-4 SU & ATS in tournament since 2008

VCU 11-1 ATS past 12 tournament games

Wichita State 12-4 ATS past 16 games overall

Wisconsin 5-1 ATS past 6 first-round games

Wisconsin 5-1 ATS past 2 tournaments

Oklahoma State UNDER is 9-3 past 12 tournament games

Oregon is 3-8 ATS in tournament since 2000

Saint Louis 4-1 ATS in tournament since 1998

New Mexico State lost 6 straight tournament games since 1993

Valpo is 0-4 SU & ATS since 1999, losing by average 77-53

Creighton 2-7 ATS past 9 tournament games

Cincinnati 5-2 ATS in first round since 2002

Pitt 2-7 ATS past 9 tournament games

Ole Miss first tournament trip since 2002

Arizona 11-4 ATS past 15 tournament games

New Mexico 1-5 ATS past 6 tournament games

New Mexico UNDER is 7-1 past 8 tournament games

UNDER is 9-2 past 11 Kansas tournament games

Villanova 0-4 ATS past 4 tournament games (UNDER 4-0)

UCLA 2-6 ATS past 8 tournament games

OVER is 6-1 past UCLA tournament games

Minnesota 0-5 SU & ATS since 1997

UNDER is 13-4 past 17 Georgetown tournament games

Georgetown 3-7 ATS past 10 tournament games

UNDER is 7-1 past 8 NC State tournament games

NC State 6-2 ATS in tournament since 2005

Temple 0-6-1 ATS past 7 tournament games

Cal is 1-5 ATS past 6 tournament games

Syracuse is 2-5 ATS past 7 tournament games

Butler is 9-1 ATS past 10 tournament games

UNDER is 8-2-1 past 11 Butler tournament games

Illinois has alternated ATS wins and losses past 10 games (win is due)

Miami played 7 straight tournament OVERs

See NCAA tournament odds at Fox Sports.

Verrazano won the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby March 9 to solidify his early standing as favorite for the 139^th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

The colt was 6-1 in Kentucky Derby future odds released by Bovada this week. He is 3-0 in his career and is slated to make one additional start before he ships to Louisville.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said this week his  final Derby prep will be the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. [ US Racebook offering new rates and new customer specials ]

A few other early Derby hopefuls will likely challenge Verrazano at the Big A, including Vyjack and Normandy Invasion both currently at 16-1 and Overanalyze at 40-1.

Who is No. 2 behind Verrazano? Itsmyluckyday is the second choice in Derby future wagering odds. He is 10-1 and unbeaten in two starts in 2013, including the Gulfstream Park Derby and the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Jan. 26.

He is pointed to Florida Derby on March 30, where 2012 juvy champ Shanghai Bobby (16-1) and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth winner Orb (16-1) are both expected to run as well.

Hear the Ghost moved to 12-1, according to Bovada, with his victory in the San Felipe. He defeated Flashback (12-1) and Goldencents (25-1) in this upset at Santa Anita.

Current odds as of March 15, 2013 provided by Bovada

Verrazano   6/1

Itsmyluckyday   10/1

Flashback   12/1

Hear The Ghost   12/1

Revolutionary   14/1

Normandy Invasion   16/1

Orb   16/1

Shanghai Bobby   16/1

Super Ninety Nine   16/1

Vyjack   16/1

Dice Flavor   20/1

Uncaptured   20/1

Frac Daddy   25/1

Goldencents   25/1

Archwarrior   33/1

Capo Bastone   33/1

Falling Sky   33/1

Ive Struck A Nerve   33/1

Power Broker   33/1

River Seven   33/1

Tesseron   33/1

Bern Identity   40/1

Fortify   40/1

Hes Had Enough   40/1

Overanalyze   40/1

Oxbow   40/1

Dynamic Sky   50/1

Palace Malice   50/1

Title Contender    50/1

 

The last of the conference tournaments begin Thursday as the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big Ten and Big West all get in on the action with opening-round play.

Meanwhile, multiple other tournaments roll on into their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds as the push to a final bracket and an onslaught of March Madness betting odds continues.

Here's a quick look at what's happening today in college hoops, with early NCAA basketball point spreads to ponder.

At the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, in a battle of bubble teams Minnesota was favored early by two points over Illinois; Michigan was favored by 14 points over Penn State; Purdue was favored by six points over Nebraska; and Iowa was favored by 10 points over Northwestern.   

At the ACC tournament in Greensboro Georgia Tech was favored by two points over Boston College; North Carolina State was favored by 11 points over Virginia Tech; Maryland, which probably has to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA tournament, was favored by five points over Wake Forest; and Florida State, the defending ACC tournament champion, was favored by two points over Clemson.

And in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn Richmond was favored by four points over Charlotte; Butler was favored by four points over Dayton; St. Joe's was favored by one point over Xavier; and UMass was favored by two points over George Washington.

In quarterfinal play at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City 21-10 Iowa State and 20-10 Oklahoma were listed as a pick 'em; Kansas takes on Texas Tech; Kansas State battles Texas; and Oklahoma State was favored by 2.5 points over Baylor.

In the Pac-12 tournament quarters out in Vegas UCLA was favored by four points over Arizona State; fourth-seeded Arizona goes against fifth-seeded Colorado; second-seeded Cal play Utah; and third-seeded Oregon battles sixth-seeded Washington.

Finally, in second-round play in the SEC tournament in Nashville Georgia was favored by one point over LSU; fifth-seeded Tennessee takes on 13th-seeded Mississippi State; seventh-seeded Arkansas was favored by three points over 10th-seeded Vandy; and sixth-seeded Missouri goes against 11th-seeded Texas A&M.

Tournament play also continues Thursday in Conference USA, the SWAC, the WAC, the MAC, the MEAC, the Great West and the Southland.  

If that's not enough to keep basketball bettors occupied, they might want to seek help.