Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency
Hockey Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin to new five-year contracts. The contracts are identical and worth a reported $30.5 million for each player.
Daniel and Henrik have played their entire NHL careers with the Canucks after being drafted by Vancouver second and third overall, respectively, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
The twin brothers led the Canucks in scoring last season with 82 points apiece. Daniel notched 31 goals and 51 assists, while Henrik posted 22 goals and 60 helpers. Henrik's goal and point totals represented career bests.
The other big free agent moved from the Motor City to the Windy City as forward Marian Hossa signed a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the contract is reportedly worth an average of $5.2 million per season. Hossa made waves last summer when he turned down a multi-year offer from Pittsburgh to sign a one-year deal with the Red Wings. He inked the deal with Detroit just weeks after losing to the Red Wings as a member of the Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.
This year, Hossa once again found himself on the losing end of the Cup Finals as the Penguins exacted revenge for the snub by downing Detroit in seven games. Hossa has yet to win a Stanley Cup title during his 11-year NHL career.
Hossa led the Red Wings with 40 goals in 2008-09 and was third on the team with 71 points. He added 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 23 playoff games. The Slovakian native has recorded 719 points (339g, 380a) in 775 career games with Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and the Red Wings.
The New York Rangers made a big splash on the first day of free agency, inking free agent forward Marian Gaborik to a five-year contract.
TSN Canada is reporting the deal is worth $7.5 million yearly.
Gaborik has spent his entire seven-year career with the Wild, totaling 219 goals and 218 assists in 502 games. This past season, he played in only 17 games due to various injuries and posted 13 goals and 10 assists.
In his last full healthy season, 2007-08, Gaborik recorded 42 goals and 83 points through 77 games. He was originally the third overall pick of the 2000 NHL Draft.
After losing Gaborik, the Wild turned around and came to terms with right wing Martin Havlat on a six-year contract, signing him away from the Blackhawks. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the deal is worth $30 million, which is the richest total contract in team history.
Last season, Havlat led Chicago with a career-high 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists), while skating in a career-best 81 games.
The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Brian Gionta to a five-year contract and defenseman Hal Gill to a two-year deal. Financial terms of both deals were not released, though Canada's TSN reported Gionta's deal is worth $25 million and Gill will make $4.5 million over the span of his contract.
Gionta, 30, had spent his entire seven-year career with New Jersey after the Devils selected him in the third round of the 1998 draft.
In 473 career games, Gionta has posted 152 goals and 160 assists. Last season he had 20 goals and 40 assists in 81 contests.
Gill, 34, spent last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and had two goals and eight assists in 62 regular season games. He also added two assists in the playoffs, helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
In 851 games over 11 NHL seasons with Boston, Toronto and Pittsburgh, Gill has recorded 31 games and 120 assists, and accumulated 800 penalty minutes.
The Florida Panthers re-signed forward David Booth to a six-year contract reportedly worth a total of $25.5 million.
Booth, a 24-year-old winger, had a breakout season in 2008-09, setting career- highs in goals (31), assists (29), points (60) and penalty minutes (38) while playing in 72 games with the Panthers. He led Florida in goals and was second on the club in points.
Booth was originally selected by Florida with the 53rd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and has recorded 56 goals and 54 assists in 193 career games with the Panthers.
The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to terms with forward Erik Cole on a two-year contract that will pay him a total of $5.8 million. Cole, 30, will make $2.8 million in 2009-10 and $3 million in 2010-11.
Cole was traded last offseason from Carolina to Edmonton, but returned to the Hurricanes in a March 4 trade that also included Los Angeles. Last season, for the Oilers and 'Canes, Cole netted 18 goals and registered 24 assists in 80 games. For his career with Carolina and Edmonton, Cole has recorded 147 goals and 322 points in 498 games.
The Anaheim Ducks agreed to a one-year contract with veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer. The team announced last week that Niedermayer would be coming back for the 2009-10 campaign.
Niedermayer posted 14 goals and 59 points while playing in all 82 games for the Ducks a season ago. A four-time Stanley Cup champion, the venerable backliner helped lead the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup championship in 2007, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player.
Since making his NHL debut in 1991-92, Niedermayer has scored 162 goals and accumulated 530 assists with New Jersey and Anaheim. He is also the only player in hockey history to have won a Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal, World Championship, World Cup, Memorial Cup and World Junior title.
The Edmonton Oilers signed goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to a four-year contract worth $15 million.
The 36-year-old netminder had a record of 25-8-7 with a 2.33 goals against average to go along with a .919 save percentage in 42 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season. In 15 playoff games, he was 8-6 with a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
Other notable free agent signings on Wednesday saw goaltender Dwayne Roloson sign with the Islanders, goaltender Craig Anderson heading to Colorado, fighting forward Colton Orr sign with Toronto, Donald Brashear taking his fighting skills to the New York Rangers, defenseman Mattias Ohlund heading to Tampa Bay, forward Mike Knuble signing with Washington and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and forward Mike Cammalleri heading to Montreal.
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady will undergo ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday. The Tommy John surgical procedure will be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum. "I'm extremely disa
<< Montreal beats Calgary in Grey Cup rematch
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Cox returned a fumble 81 yards for a
touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sealing Montreal's 40-27 win over
Calgary in the season opener for both teams, a rematch of last year's Grey Cup
matchup
<< Moehler, Astros dominate Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Brian Moehler, largely ineffective so
far this season, pitched six solid innings of one-run ball and a three-run
throwing error by Chase Headley opened the floodgates, as Houston buried San
Diego,
<< Wild land Havlat
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the same day they lost forward Marian
Gaborik to free agency, the Minnesota Wild made a big splash by coming to
terms with right wing Martin Havlat on a six-year contract.
The Minneapolis Star-T
<< Blalock's HR in ninth lifts Rangers over Angels
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock went 3-for-5 with a pair of home
runs, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning, to lift the
Rangers past the Angels, 9-7, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
After th
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again, possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. "This is huge for us.
Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in
Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone
State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was original
Astros go for series win at Petco >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon
over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up
a four-game set.
Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
Cubs, Brewers to begin key NL Central series >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight
National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up
offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return
home for the start of a
Braves hope to break out the brooms against Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the
NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high
four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the
Philadelphia
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2007 online football betting Preview
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
Las Vegas Sports Lines
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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