Big names won't last long on the open market

Hockey Betting Lines

06/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the last few years of NHL free agency have taught us anything, it's that the best talent doesn't last long on the open market.

General managers have been looking ahead to July 1 for months and if they don't know who to target by now, they're probably not going to help their teams out very much when the free agent market opens Thursday at noon.

Of course, the biggest name on the market is sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, but his asking price eliminates most NHL teams right off the bat.

The Russian winger was dealt from Atlanta to New Jersey at last year's trade deadline, and although the Devils are still very much in the mix to sign Kovalchuk, the 27-year-old seems to have a West Coast address waiting for him in the near future.

The Los Angeles Kings appear to be leading the pack in the Kovalchuk chase, with fellow SoCal residents Anaheim also in the mix.

The Kings are still a very young team with plenty of salary cap room, but after making the postseason last year, LA also feels that it's just one big piece away from challenging for a Stanley Cup title. Although Kovalchuk has not achieved anything in the playoffs so far, there is little doubt that he is a pure goal-scorer.

Anaheim, meanwhile, has some extra cap space to work with since defenseman Scott Niedermayer announced his retirement last week.

What hurts the Devils in the bidding war for Kovalchuk is how his stint with New Jersey this year ended. Kovalchuk filled up the stat sheet for New Jersey, recording 27 points in 27 regular-season games following the trade. He also added six points in five playoff games, but the Devils were still bounced out by Philadelphia in the opening round. It wasn't exactly the best trial run for Kovalchuk and the Devs.

Of course, the knock on this year's free agent class is that after Kovalchuk, there is a big drop-off in talent. The next-best available forwards are Ray Whitney, Olli Jokinen, Paul Kariya and Alexander Frolov and it appears Frolov is leaning towards returning to Russia to play in the KHL.

Also, the Dallas Stars announced earlier this week that they won't be re- signing Mike Modano, but the future Hall of Famer hasn't decided if he will play elsewhere. Not to mention, at 40 years old, Modano doesn't seem to have a whole lot left in the tank anyway.

But, outside of the forward realm, there are some big-ticket items to be had on the market. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar may not be returning to Pittsburgh and just about every team has a need for the two-way talent that the Russian blueliner possesses.

Dan Hamhuis and Paul Martin, who played last year for Nashville and New Jersey, respectively, are also solid puck-moving defensemen and will likely be seeking new destinations.

Hamhuis is an interesting case since his rights have been traded twice in the last few weeks, but he has still yet to sign and may want to test the open market. Philadelphia, which acquired Hamhuis' rights from Nashville, couldn't work out a deal with the blueliner and decided to ship him across state to the Penguins. So far, Pittsburgh hasn't been able to sign Hamhuis either and it appears likely that the defenseman is aiming to get the most out of his free- agency status.

There are also several options for teams looking for a starting goaltender. The San Jose Sharks have decided not to re-sign Evgeni Nabokov, and Marty Turco won't be returning to Dallas. Both goalies are 34 years old, but that doesn't mean they can't still hold down a starting job. Nabokov is especially intriguing since, unlike Turco, he is coming off another strong regular season.

Other available goaltenders who have been starters in the past are Jose Theodore, Chris Mason and Martin Biron.

It's still anybody's guess where these players will actually wind up, but it would be a surprise if most of them weren't snatched up before Monday rolls around.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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