Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/27/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nearly a month after the doors to NHL free agency opened, the auction for the best up-for-grabs players has come to a screeching halt.
On the first day of the highly anticipated off-season extravaganza, owners opened up their checkbooks and dished out close to $230 million over 78 years for 33 new players ... just slightly above Ilya Kovalchuk's most recent offer.
While that might be an exaggeration in regard to Kovalchuk, the drop-off in player movement since then is not.
Since July 1, the biggest names who have found a new home are Matthew Lombardi and Pavel Kubina. Most of the other moves have been small in scale, and centered around depth players and minor-leaguers.
Although this isn't an unusual phenomenon, as the cream of the yearly crop is generally scooped up as quickly as possible, there are still several quality players looking for work.
Teams looking for a veteran presence have plenty to choose from with players such as Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne, Mike Modano, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin all awaiting a phone call.
Although these players represent hockey of a previous era, they would still be able to contribute effectively to a team in need of leadership or playoff experience.
Next up are the "goal scorers".
Leading this list are Russian snipers Maxim Afinogenov followed by former Maple Leafs Alexei Ponikarovsky and Lee Stempniak.
Based on his stats from last season, it would appear Afinogenov is in for a big raise. The speedy winger notched 24 goals and 61 points for the Atlanta Thrashers after signing a one-year $800,000 deal a year ago.
Afinogenov is certainly worthy of a raise, but after slumbering through two injury-shortened seasons in Buffalo prior to signing with the Thrashers, leery GM's might be hesitant to fork over the dough for a player with a battered past.
Stempniak had the most goals of the bunch, with 28 a season ago, although half of those came in an 18-game span after the Phoenix Coyotes acquired him at the trade deadline.
Despite his outlandish production post-trade deadline, it's unlikely Stempniak will cash in big with just over a month to go before training camps open up.
The biggest detriment to Ponikarovsky's value is his playoff performance in Pittsburgh after the Penguins traded for him at the deadline.
He put up five points in 11 games, but was also a healthy scratch twice. That said, he's been a consistent 20-goal scorer since the lockout and could compliment any team looking for scoring depth.
Several other players such as Marty Turco, Raffi Torres, Andy Sutton and Willie Mitchell should garner attention as well, but likely at reduced rates.
With younger players cracking the big leagues on entry-level contracts and budding stars signing lifelong deals, the once abundant and exciting free agent period has become a victim of salary cap-era management.
While free agency will always remain an option for teams looking to add a few pieces to the puzzle, the impact it once had on the league and the players involved has vanished temporarily.
For how long is anybody's guess.
<< Broncos sign rookie WR Decker
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos came to terms with rookie
wide receiver Eric Decker, the team announced on Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Decker, who was taken in the third round -- 87th overall --
<< USA dominates Chinese Taipei at World Junior Baseball Championship
Thunder Bay, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For a team expecting to play right through
the end of the tournament, the United States is doing a good job of preserving
energy.
Phillip Pfeifer (1-0) dominated a hot-hitting Chinese Taipei squad over sev
<< Gaming: C-USA a one-team league in non-conference play
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Take away Houston's straight-up and
against-the-spread non-conference records in 2009, and Conference USA was a
meat market for its opposition. The Cougars were 3-1 both SU and ATS outside
the conference, in
<< Calgary's Bryant highlights CFL Players of the Week
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary wide receiver Romby Bryant, Montreal
defensive end John Bowman, Winnipeg kick returner Jovon Johnson and Calgary
running back Jon Cornish were selected as the CFL's top performers for Week 4
of the
Former Buckeye, Raider Tatum dies >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-hitting linebacker/safety Jack Tatum has
passed away at the age of 61 after suffering a heart attack on Tuesday.
Nicknamed "The Assassin," Tatum played for Ohio State from 1968-70 and for the
Oakland Rai
Braves, Ross agree to two-year extension >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves and catcher David
Ross agreed to a two-year extension through the 2012 season.
Financial terms were not available.
Ross is currently batting .269 with 18 RBI in 35 games this sea
CFL West: Burris powers through errors in win over Riders >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While a home win by the Calgary Stampeders
against the Saskatchewan Roughriders isn't completely surprising, that the win
came by 20 points is not something many would have expected. Calgary put on a
great sec
Celtic signs striker Hooper >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic made its sixth signing of the
offseason Tuesday, adding 22-year-old striker Gary Hooper on a four-year deal
from Scunthorpe United.
Hooper had 43 goals in 80 matches for Scunthorpe United, a
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting