On the Road Again

On the road again ... That's the plight of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, who once more find themselves having to face hostile crowds in unfriendly environs as they play for NFL conference championships this weekend. The Broncos are a 3 to 3 1/2-point AFC favorite over the Steelers at Mile High Stadium in Denver while the NFC Seahawks are laying 4 1/2 points to the Panthers at Seattle's Qwest Stadium. The total is 41 in the Rocky Mountains and 43 1/2 in America's Great Northwest. Bookmakers contend the sides are so evenly matched that the games are garnering solid two-way action as the clock ticks toward Sunday. 'I don't have any predictions," said Cyril Burger, the former Hilton SuperBook chief who now runs the Flamingo bet shop. "These games are too close to call. "I think they'll be tremendous games, though. "Not being at the hub (Caesars Palace), it's kind of hard to tell how the betting's going." Rich Baccellieri, the Palms' race and sports director, couldn't forecast much more than "a busy weekend for the books." "The numbers seem to be right there and we're getting good action both ways," Baccellieri said. "It's like a roll of the dice." Baccellieri conceded, however, that the Seattle-Carolina game possibly would present a different scenario if the Panthers weren't so plagued with injuries. The heart of Carolina's backfield will be watching from the bench as running back DeShaun Foster is out with a busted ankle, joining injured reservist Stephen Davis on the sidelines. Jake Delhomme and the remainder of the Panthers' offense instead will rely on Nick Goings, a fifth year undrafted free agent who has performed well under pressure in the past. Goings has averaged 4.4 yards a carry in the playoffs, but is not a breakaway threat. The good news for Carolina Friday was that defensive end Julius Peppers was likely to be in the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury against Chicago last week. Peppers practiced Friday after resting earlier in the week. "I think you'd see a different game with everyone healthy," Baccellieri said. The No. 1 priority for Carolina will be to get the ball to wideout Steve Smith, who led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1,563 yards and guided the attack against Chicago last week. Jack Snyder, top assistant to Tony Paonessa at Sam's Town, believes Carolina and Pittsburgh will wear out before time runs out on Sunday. The Panthers have won four straight playoff games on the road, two this season and another pair when they made their first Super Bowl appearance in 2004. "You can't keep going on the road and winning indefinitely," Snyder said. "The Denver and Seattle players are sleeping in their own beds and are just a short drive from the away from their stadiums. "The Steelers and Panthers are looking at long plane rides, checking in at hotels and sleeping in strange beds," Snyder continued. "Playing on the road is a big thing." Nevertheless, Snyder said early betting was on the road teams "by almost a 2/1 ratio." "It's weird," he observed. "They're betting the Steelers straight, but the Broncos in parlays." Likewise, the public is taking the Panthers. "We opened at Seahawks minus 5 1/2 and it's now 4," Snyder noted. The total on that game has gone from 43 to 44 at Sam's Town, an East Las Vegas resort. "They're betting the over heavily in the Seattle game and the under on the Denver game. We've gone from 43 to 41," Snyder declared. Eric St. Clair, a son-law of longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Bob Martin who now operates books at The Cannery and Rampart Casino, agrees with Snyder's rationale and prefers the two home clubs. "I don't think the Steelers will win a third straight road game, not with that crowd at Mile High," he said. "If Carolina was healthy, I'd choose the Panthers." St. Clair said wagering at the two northwest valley casinos was pretty even. "The teaser action is going to the dogs, though," he added. Most betting action will pass through the counters on Saturday and Sunday, St. Clair observed. "People will come in Saturday to bet basketball and they'll be making their NFL selections then." Whichever teams advance to Super Bowl XL at Detroit's Ford Field two weeks from Sunday, don't look for record-breaking betting numbers. Denver is the only survivor that could be considered a public team, dating back to the days of John Elway. "The Super Bowl won't be as glamorous as it would've been with Indianapolis in there," Baccellieri observed. "These teams don't have the same kind of appeal as the Colts. "It's obviously going to draw," Baccellieri said. "After all, it is the Super Bowl. Some of the flair will be missing, though."