07/03/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Hockey Betting) - The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly have agreed to a seven-year, $35 million contract extension with goaltender Marc- Andre Fleury, and a one-year $3.5 million deal with veteran winger Miroslav Satan.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the terms of the deals on Thursday. Fleury, 23, went 19-10-2 last season with a career-best 2.33 goals against average for the Eastern Conference champions. He missed almost three months with a high ankle sprain.
Fleury went 14-6 with a 1.97 GAA in the Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Penguins made their first appearance in the Finals since 1992. The Sorel, Quebec native was originally drafted first overall by the Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and is 76-67-2-11 with a 2.95 GAA and a .905 save percentage in four seasons with Pittsburgh.
Satan, 33, scored 16 goals and had 25 assists in 80 games last season with the Islanders. The Topolcany, Slovakia native has scored 337 goals and compiled 349 assists in 12 seasons with the Oilers, Sabres, and Islanders.
<< United denies rumors about surgery for Ronaldo
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United has denied reports
suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo will undergo surgery on his injured right
ankle in the next few days.
The 23-year-old Portugal ace suffered problems with
<< Lightning sign C Smith
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning signed free agent
center Wyatt Smith to a one-year, two-way contract on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Smith split his time between the Avalanche and Lake Erie of
the American Hocke
<< Leafs acquire Grabovski from Habs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired center
Mikhail Grabovski from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the rights to
2008 draft pick Greg Pateryn and a second-round choice in the 2010 draft.
Grabovski
<< PSG suspends midfielder Digard
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paris St. Germain has suspended midfielder
Didier Digard, who is holding out for a move to England to join Middlesbrough
this summer.
The 21-year-old had slammed PSG over delays to the switch, claimi
Coyotes sign D Hale >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes signed defenseman David
Hale to a two-year contract on Thursday. Per club policy, terms of the deal
were not disclosed.
The 27-year-old Hale had two assists and 46 penalty minute
Report: United assistant Queiroz to coach Portugal >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz
is set for his second stint as a Portugal national team coach, according to
newspaper reports.
He is expected to sign a four-year contract with Portugal,
Domenech will remain coach of France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Domenech will remain coach of France's
national team it was announced Thursday, despite the country's recent failure
at Euro 2008.
Domenech's future was in doubt after France failed to advance out
Hossa takes the easy way out >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing the role of the popular high
school quarterback, Marian Hossa decided to go to the prom with the prettiest
girl. And, like said attention-getter ready to go off and be a big man on
campus after his ma
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
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