Basic Air Hockey Rules

You just bought a new air hockey table for some recreation fun in your home, but now you realize that you don't know the basic air hockey rules. Instead of just randomly making up your own rules for your friends and family, why not follow the rules of the USAA air hockey official rules. They are not that hard to follow and you can choose to only follow the basic regulations to keep things rather simple.

Once you have the rules for air hockey down, you can even think about throwing your own air hockey tournament for your friends and family. Having defined rules that are nationally known helps keep your games fair and fun.

Here are the basic air hockey rules that you should know about.

• The player who reaches 7 points first, wins the game. A point is awarded when the puck drops inside of the opponent's goal.

• Every game should start with a face off in the middle of the air hockey table. It's best to have a third party person initiate the face off.

• Only one puck should be used at a time during the games. Like wise, a person may only play with one mallet at a time.

• Each player has to stay on their respected side of the centerline.

• Each player is allowed one time out during the game, but must be in possession of the puck to call a time out.

• No part of the player's body or clothing is allowed to touch the puck. If this happens, a foul is called and the other player gets possession of the puck. The only time it is okay for a player to touch the puck, is if the puck rises from the table or goes out of bounds off the air hockey table.

• If a player loses control of their own mallet, a foul is called.

• A player only has 7 seconds to take a shot once the puck has come onto their side of the table.

• After each game, players switch sides of the air hockey table. It is up to you how many games you want to play in a set, but should be an odd number such as 3 or 5 games.

Remember, that the whole point of buying an air hockey table is to have fun. If you want to have your own air hockey tournament with friends or are just playing a game with a family member, be sure to establish the rules first, even if you are not playing by the USA official rules. This will save you from hard feelings and fights caused from playing air hockey. by Matthew Rosson

Top Five NHL Success Stories in 2008-2009

As awesome as the March Madness odds are, they've been strangely predictable this year - short on cute, fuzzy Cinderella stories, as all the online betting favorites (14 of the top 16 seeds are in the Sweet 16 odds) keep winning. If we want to "feel" something, if we want to be inspired, we must look elsewhere.

How about NHL betting? There's been no shortage of uplifting stories in 2008-2009. Let's look at the top five success stories of the season, featuring numerous teams and players who have defied sportsbook odds.

5. COMRIE AND FISHER MAKE EVERYONE JEALOUS

I was about to pencil Mike Green's amazing offensive season into the No. 5 spot when I started having my daily celebrity chick fantasy...today's was a threesome with Hilary Duff and Carrie Underwood, but the dream was shattered when Ottawa Senators Mike Comrie and Mike Fisher burst in the room and stole the beauties away from me. If snagging those two starlets isn't a success story in NHL betting, nothing is.

4. SUNDIN AND THE CANUCKS BOUNCE BACK - AND THEN SOME

The Vancouver Canucks were the butt of online sports betting fans' jokes come Christmas time; they were sliding out of the Western-Conference playoff hunt, Roberto Luongo was on the shelf and management signed Mats Sundin in hopes of shedding the Canucks' one-line team label. Here we are in March and the Canucks have been the most dominant team in the West for two months, icing two strong scoring lines and riding the stellar netminding of now-healed Luongo. Could all three Canadian teams reach the Big Dance in the West?

3. LIFE WITHOUT BRODEUR IS PAR-EASY FOR NEW JERSEY

No one doubted Zach Parise's ability before the NHL betting season started, but did anyone think he'd be this good? Currently fifth in league scoring with 88 points (41 goals) in 73 games, Parise exploded at the perfect moment - when Marty Brodeur missed most of the year with a groin injury. Now that the Devils are healthy, there's no telling how far they can go in the Stanley Cup odds.

2. ORIGINAL SIX MAKE GREAT NHL BETTING PIX

How cool is it that Detroit, Chicago, New York, Boston, Montreal and...oh, wait. No Toronto. Still, five out of six Original Six franchises probably making the Stanley Cup betting playoffs is pretty damn exciting. The coolest story of this group has to be Chicago's. With Rocky Wirtz running the show and getting Hawks games back on TV, they're leading the NHL in attendance and boast an exciting team of future stars. Welcome back, Windy City.

1. JACKETS NO LONGER SINGIN' THE BLUES IN COLUMBUS

It looks like Columbus and Rick Nash - a deserving hockey city and star player - will finally experience the NHL betting playoffs this season. With a five-point cushion and nine games to play, a lot would have to go wrong for the Jackets to miss out. While Columbus ain't exactly Hockeytown, its fans are underrated and, for all we know, a playoff series could generate all-out fanaticism. The driving force has been sensational rookie goalie Steve Mason. If the season ended today, I'd load him up with trophies - the Calder, Vezina and, dare I say it, Hart. There hasn't been a cooler sportbook story than the Blue Jackets this year in hockey betting. by Bet Online