Sabres coach Ruff set to return
Hockey Betting Lines
02/14/2012 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff will return to his normal spot behind the bench on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Ruff had been watching his team from the press box since suffering three broken ribs during last Monday's practice. Assistant coach James Patrick guided the team to a 2-1-0 record during Ruff's absence.
On Tuesday morning, Ruff said that he'll wear a "flak jacket-type of design" to protect his midsection. Assistant coaches Patrick and Teppo Numminen will stay close to Ruff on the bench.
"I'm going to have to be careful," Ruff said. "I won't be jumping up on top of the bench. I've got to stay away from some quick movements. Even yelling, I've had some issues when I've even tried to cough. The tough part is maybe just to stay calm when otherwise you'd get pretty excited."
Ruff also said that defenseman Christian Ehrhoff may miss Tuesday's game due to an illness.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was one last major order of business before some baseball teams open camp on Sunday and that was to find a home for Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Well, that has been taken care of, albeit by a te
<< Morehead State to host six, but face tough road schedule
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as
part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
<< Rebels and Horned Frogs square off in MWC matchup
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Locked in a three-way tie for first place in
the Mountain West Conference standings entering the week, the 11th-ranked UNLV
Runnin' Rebels try to give themselves some breathing room as they take on the
TCU Horn
<< No.22 Virginia takes on Clemson in ACC affair
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Virginia Cavaliers continue
their Atlantic Coast Conference road swing with a visit to the Littlejohn
Coliseum to square off with the Clemson Tigers.
This will be the 119th battle between the Ca
<< Buckeyes set sights on Gophers in Big Ten brawl
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will
try bounce back from their poorest outing of the season as they head to
Williams Arena to take on Tubby Smith's Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten
Conference matchu
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday. The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
Royals pick up Yost's option for 2013 >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have picked up the
option on manager Ned Yost's contract for 2013.
Terms were not disclosed.
Yost was named the Royals manager on May 13, 2010, replacing Trey Hillman, and
two m
White Sox ink Fukudome >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox on Tuesday signed free-
agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to one-year contract with a club option for
the 2013 season.
Under terms of the deal, Fukudome will receive $500,000 in 2012, w
Brewers beat Veras in arbitration >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The salary arbitration case between the
Brewers and pitcher Jose Veras was ruled in favor of club on Tuesday.
Milwaukee will pay Veras a $2 million salary in 2012 instead of the $2.375
million he re
Rams name Snead general manager >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams have named Les Snead as
the club's new general manager.
Snead spent the past 13 seasons in the personnel department with the Atlanta
Falcons. He was one of about 10 candidates for
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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