Atlanta –1.05 over TORONTO Pinnacle
Proving the adage that there's no better deodorant that winning, the Leafs have erased most of the negative feelings of their brutal start over the past few games and seem to have a new energy about them. However, a few wins doesn’t mean the Leafs are devoid of problems and there’s a couple worth pointing out here. First, and this always comes up when discussing the Leafs, there’s the goaltending, where Joey Macdonald, Vesa Toskala or Jonas Gustavsson has not shown any consistency whatsoever. All three can’t be trusted. Secondly, the Leafs home record is the worst in the NHL. Toronto has just two home wins in 13 games. The problem here for the Leafs in relation to the aforementioned is that the Thrashers have been wickedly good on the road with nine wins in 12 games. Furthermore, Atlanta has one of the most potent attacks in the game and those two things combined make this a very challenging assignment for the Maple Leafs. Play: Atlanta –1.05 (Risking 2.10 units to win 2).

Minnesota +1.25 over PHOENIX Pinnacle
Two hot teams go at it here. The Wild have reeled off five in a row while the Coyotes have won four straight. The difference is that the Wild are taking back a tag and they’re scoring at an eye-opening rate. In fact, Minnesota has scored five goals in each of the past three games and in four of its past five games. They’ve badly outplayed some decent teams and included in their current run is two straight wins over the then red-hot Predators. They scored five times in both those wins over that stingy defense in Nashville. Bottom line is you just can’t ignore a price on the Wild when you consider what they’ve accomplished recently. They’re definitely feeling it right now. Play: Minnesota +1.25 (Risking 2 units).


NFL
GREEN BAY –3½ over Baltimore Pinnacle
This game will most definitely have an impact on the playoff race, as both teams are in a position to make it and both will decide its on fate based on the last five games. What’s interesting here is that the Pack last played on Thanksgiving Thursday and thus, they’ve had an extra four days off. So, let’s have a look at the teams that played on Thanksgiving Thursday and had the extra time off. In the first Thanksgiving game the Packers went into Detroit. Yesterday, the Lions covered in Cincinnati. The second game featured Oakland playing in Dallas and the Raiders won outright as a 14½-point pooch. Dallas lost in New York but the Giants also played on Thanksgiving, in Denver, so that one is a wash. As for the Broncos, well they torched the Chiefs in what might’ve been the most lopsided game of the day. Thus, all teams that played with the extra rest this late in the year all showed up yesterday with great results. Also consider that the Ravens played last Sunday night in a prime time match-up against its biggest rival, the Steelers, and won in OT. That was a huge and emotional win and that makes this assignment even more difficult. Man for man, these two are pretty damn close but the Packers are at home, they’re much more rested and they’ll feature the best QB on the field here. Oh, by the way, the Ravens once feared defense is no longer feared at all. Play: Green Bay –3½ (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).