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Calling Canuck fans everywhereHockey Betting Lines07/09/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The word "frenzy" is often used to describe the NHL's free agency period, but sitting here today on July 9th, the word "flop" might be more appropriate in describing the excitement level amongst hockey fans. In the first two days of free agency there were 52 new contracts handed out, and there have been only seven since. It would seem that general managers are playing a waiting game, holding their cards close to the vest in order to see how the landscape will look once superstar Ilya Kovalchuk decides on a new home. After the Russian sniper signs, effectively taking this year's stud off the market, one can expect the deals to start hitting the news wire at more of a brisk pace. For now, it will be the smaller stories that get some attention, and the Vancouver Canucks are serving up some fodder for the hockey world in that regard. It was announced earlier in the week that the Canucks would be partnering with Rogers Communications, Canada's largest cable and mobile phone provider, in a sponsorship deal. By acquiring the naming rights to the team's downtown stadium on Tuesday, the concrete behemoth at 800 Griffiths Way, previously known as General Motors place, will now be Rogers Arena. Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini and Rogers president and CEO Nadir Mohamed agreed on the 10-year deal that will not only result in the name change, but also some exploration into using the media giant to reach out to Canucks fans. "We will partner with the Canucks to explore new and revolutionary ways to use wireless technology to engage Vancouver fans any time, any place," said Mohamed, who grew up a Canucks fan in British Columbia. By the sound of it, some interesting new digital outlets could be developed to enhance the franchise's relationship with its rabid fan base. The Canucks already have an extremely successful iPhone application on the market, showing how they value the opportunities to connect with people in this digital age. This new partnership is an expansion of that media savvy. Rogers can add this relationship with the Canucks to their already-impressive resume in pro sports ownership, management and marketing. The media giant also owns the Toronto Blue Jays franchise and their home turf (Rogers Centre), as well as the naming rights to the ATP pro tennis tour's Canadian pit stop the Rogers Cup. On the hockey front, the Canucks have made some moves that should contribute to their on-ice success as well. By signing free agents Dan Hamhuis and Manny Malhotra and trading for the Florida Panthers' Keith Ballard the Canucks have beefed up at both ends of the ice. Hamhuis, 27, turned down more lucrative offers to play in his home province and will be the lynchpin of the defensive corps, while Ballard, also 27, will join Hamhuis among the top four on the back end and will be an injection of quickness and durability. The move to get Ballard could also allow the Canucks to explore the possibility of moving oft-injured defender Kevin Bieksa for some more scoring punch up front. With the signing of Malhotra, the Canucks add a gritty third-line center who won more than 60 percent of his draws last season. The face-off specialist will take a leading role on the penalty kill that finished 18th in the league last year. The Canucks have sent a strong message to the rest of the league, that they believe the window for a Stanley Cup is wide open. And by partnering with Rogers, it looks like there will be even more ways for Canucks fans to enjoy the ride.
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2007 online football betting PreviewMy 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 PreviewThere 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 LinesThe 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. To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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