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06/11/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may sound cliche, but when it comes to fixing what ails the National Hockey League, there may be no better time than the present.
On the heels of the most successful NHL season in a decade and a Stanley Cup final that demonstrated all that is right with the league, it is a moment that must be captured with vigor by Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The Stanley Cup final produced a spectacular brand of hockey that has reinvigorated the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers franchises, which also happen to reside in two of the game's most important markets.
Fresh-faced superstars like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have become household names across North America, poster boys if you will, for a new era in the NHL. An era that is seeing youth, speed and goal scoring become the defining elements of a brand that has suffered for so long.
Add already established superstars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to the fold, along with a slew of talented youngsters led by the likes of Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, and it is safe to say that the recipe for success is a good one.
Television ratings for this latest Stanley Cup Final were remarkable in Canada and the highest in the United States since the Flyers, led by Bobby Clarke, beat out Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins for hockey's ultimate prize in 1974. It seems unfathomable, but 1.2 out of every 10 American televisions was tuned into the Game 6 matchup on Wednesday night, demonstrating a heightened interest for the game south of the border.
Hockey is on the verge of a breakthrough, and Bettman is on the clock.
In most markets the game is thriving or at least sustainable, but a few sore spots exist that have shown little evidence of viability.
Franchises in Phoenix, Atlanta, and Florida are on life support, while there are ownership issues in other regions around the league likely spurned by the recent economic meltdown.
The remedy is simple; find owners who want to purchase these troubled franchises in cities that can sustain them, and move the teams.
The trouble is that Bettman has for years been outwardly ignorant to the possibility of relocation to Canadian markets, even when potential suitors have existed. This approach has done little for his image, and little for the game itself.
Previously spurned markets in Winnipeg and Quebec have been waiting with open arms, while southern Ontario, the world hotbed of hockey, continues to operate with the Toronto Maple Leafs as its only franchise.
Instead, Bettman has been insistent on transfers to areas like Las Vegas or Kansas City, further examining the Southern United States for relocation, as if to compound his already misguided expansion of the NHL into the United States' Sun Belt.
If only he had tried as hard to keep franchises in Winnipeg and Quebec as he has in the Desert with the Coyotes, the NHL might not be wrestling with these ugly issues.
Instead of trying to cover up the financial pitfalls of dying organizations, and sugarcoat the reasons why fans dislike or ignore the game in certain cities, Bettman needs to come clean with the realization that franchises in peril will continue to drag down the league.
As it stands, Bettman has received serious interest from prospective owners in both Winnipeg and Quebec. Mark Chipman and David Thomson of True North Sports and Entertainment made a serious pitch to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and return them to Winnipeg, and Bettman says he's heard from more than one "substantial" group in Quebec, including a pitch from media giant Quebecor.
Canadian fans need not yell from the highest hills to be heard, but rather, the league needs to do the noticing for them. There is a market in Canada for additional NHL franchises that should no longer be ignored.
The continued growth of the NHL brand and the health of the league will rest squarely on relocation to these ready-for-prime-time markets.
The positive ripple effect of the Cup finals has made this an unprecedented time to build on the current wave of momentum, and Bettman needs to right the ship once and for all.
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up a series win on Thursday. They'll try to keep that momentum going this
evening when they host the Texas Rangers for the first time in almost 13 years
with to
<< First-place Reds to begin interleague set with Royals
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League Central leaders will try to cook up some more wins at home when they
welcome the Kansas
<< Phils, Moyer take run search to Boston's Fenway Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer hopes for a little run support this evening
when the Philadelphia Phillies start a three-game interleague set against the
Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The Phillies were shut out for a major-league tying
<< Sunshine State foes collide as Marlins visit Rays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have enjoyed interleague play over the
last few years and will get their fill with 15 consecutive contests against
the National League starting with tonight's opener of a three-game series
versus the Florid
South Africa earns draw in World Cup opener >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa opened the 2010
FIFA World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Mexico at Soccer City on Friday in
Group A play.
The host nation took a surprising 1-0 lead in the 55th minute through Siphiwe
Hawks end drought as TV ratings skyrocket >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time since the days of Bobby
Hull and Stan Mikita, the Chicago Blackhawks have delivered the Windy City a
championship.
The 2009-10 Blackhawks will have their name etched on Lord Stanley's Cu
Hewitt reaches Halle semis >>
Halle, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt reached
his first semifinal of 2010 with a victory Friday at the Gerry Weber Open,
a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The eighth-seeded two-time major champion Hewitt got
Izzo tells AP: Still no decision on Cavaliers job >>
Tom Izzo is still torn, trying to figure out if he should stay at Michigan State or leave to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.Izzo wrote in a text message Friday morning - about 12 hours after he returned home from Cleveland - he has not made a decisio
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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