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07/20/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman brought a copious amount of credibility to the organization when he was hired in May.
Less than two months later, he has also brought in a mass of talent that has the Lightning thinking big for 2010-11.
New Tampa Bay owner Jeff Vinik knew what he was getting when he hired "The Captain" on May 25: a four-time Stanley Cup champion with Detroit (three times as a player) who already had established success building teams on a national level. Yzerman served as Canada's general manager for the IIHF World Championships, winning gold in 2007 and a silver the following year before reaching the top of the mountain this past winter.
As executive director, Yzerman put together a Team Canada that won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver with a thrilling overtime victory over the United States, leading to his exit as Detroit's team vice president and into his current role with Tampa Bay.
What Yzerman has done in his short time with the Lightning is nothing short of astounding. Taking over a team that finished tied for the fewest points in the NHL in 2007-08 and eight points out of a playoff spot last year, Yzerman has turned his franchise into a club that has enough talent to end a three-season playoff drought and maybe even challenge the powerhouse Washington Capitals for bragging rights in the Southeast Division.
Even with all of the moves Yzerman has made since becoming GM, his best might have come on Monday when the Lightning pulled the trigger on a trade with the Flyers that brought two-time 40-goal scorer Simon Gagne into the mix for a defenseman (Matt Walker) that isn't even likely to crack Philadelphia's NHL roster, along with a 2011 fourth-round pick.
Yes, Gagne does come with some injury risk. The 30-year-old missed the start of last season due to abdominal surgery and also suffered a broken foot in the playoffs, though he returned early from that ailment. He has also battled groin and concussion issues in the past, but still owns 259 goals in his career and is a free agent at season's end.
In short, Gagne is a low-risk, high-payoff addition and Yzerman was able to pounce on the forward for such a low price because he knew the Flyers had to move salary to get under the cap.
"This trade not only makes us a better team in the short-term, it helps create long-term flexibility for us, which all along has been one of our top priorities," said Yzerman.
Also factor in that Gagne had to waive his no-trade clause to make the deal happen, and it shows that Yzerman has made Tampa, nowhere close to a hockey town, into an attractive place for players.
There isn't a single aspect of the Lightning's game that hasn't already been touched by Yzerman. Most importantly, he has done so while displaying a keen sense of how to work with the salary cap, an area many NHL general managers have struggled with since its inception following the lockout.
With a solid core of Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman, Yzerman earlier locked up veteran and locker room leader Martin St. Louis to a four-year extension, and offset the cost of that new deal by shipping defenseman Andrej Meszaros' reported $4 million cap hit to the Flyers for a 2012 second-round pick.
And that was just the start.
When free agency began, the Lightning inked Dan Ellis, a former promising goaltender with the Predators who lost his starting job last year despite a solid 2.69 goals-against average and .909 save percentage. The best part is Ellis' deal -- a two-year, $3 million pact, which isn't bad for a player who could overtake Mike Smith for the starting role.
Then came the defense. Pavel Kubina, who won a championship with the Lightning in 2004, was brought back to add size and a point shot to the power play, while veteran Brett Clark was added to help mentor the young blueliners.
"I talked to Steve ... and I was very impressed with the direction he's going in with the team," Kubina said after signing with the club. "I always wanted to come home. Other than Czech, Tampa Bay is my second home. I still have my house there and even though I had other offers on the table, I couldn't pass this up."
A 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, Yzerman has wasted little time in transforming the Lightning into contenders, using a number of shrewd moves that would make a fantasy sports owner jealous.
His next task, and maybe the most difficult, is making the fans in Tampa care.
Winning will take care of that.
<< Revolution's Ralston to retire
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Revolution and Major League
Soccer original Steve Ralston will announce his retirement from professional
soccer on Tuesday night.
Ralston, who has been a member of MLS since the league'
<< Gaming: Can the Mid-American Conference Rebound?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mid-American Conference came into
last season fresh off a 28-21 against the spread mark outside its own league,
while going 17-12 against Bowl Championship Series competition. Unfortunately,
those solid
<< Bornstein to join Mexican club Tigres UNAL
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA and United States defender Jonathan
Bornstein, a four-time Major League Soccer All-Star, will join Tigres UANL of
the Mexican First Division following the 2010 season.
Bornstein will complete his c
<< Alouettes tangle with Tiger-Cats in home opener
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked fifth in the most recent power rankings
in the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes hope to move up as they contend against the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats in their 2010 home opener at Percival Molson Memorial
Stadium this
Phils option disappointing Kendrick to Triple-A >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies optioned struggling
starter Kyle Kendrick to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, recalling pitcher
Andrew Carpenter to take his place.
Kendrick suffered the loss as the Phils dr
Chelsea goalie Cech injures calf in training >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to leave
training early Tuesday with a calf problem, putting his status for the start
of the English Premier League season in doubt.
Cech, 28, underwent scans Tuesday a
Tottenham, Arsenal ban vuvuzelas >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham became the first English Premier
League club to ban vuvuzelas Tuesday, and fellow London side Arsenal followed
suit.
The vuvuzela, a plastic horn that produces a humming sound, was prominent a
Monmouth Park welcomes Horse of the Year >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra
has safely arrived at Monmouth Park in preparation of her start in Saturday's
1 1/8-mile Lady's Secret Stakes. The four-year-old champion filly was taken
from h
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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