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02/16/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The city of Nashville is known primarily as the country music capital of the world, but come this June, the town could be pulling double duty as the center of the hockey universe.
That's how significant landing a player of Peter Forsberg's caliber could be for the still-blossoming Predators franchise.
The Predators pulled off the biggest trade of the NHL season so far on Thursday, when they acquired Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for right wing Scottie Upshall, defenseman Ryan Parent and first-round and third-round draft picks in the 2007 NHL draft.
Nashville has already impressed with its play this year and is currently leading the Western Conference with 81 points, but this is just the franchise's ninth year since joining the league and the Preds are still finding respect hard to come by.
That's why this deal makes complete sense for the Predators -- it forces the rest of the league to take this expansion club seriously. Forsberg brings instant credibility to a team that was lacking a superstar.
Critics will say that Nashville gave up too much young talent for an injury- plagued player who may become a free agent or even retire at the end of the season. Yet, if the Predators wind up hoisting the Cup in June, Nashville isn't likely to be heartbroken by Forsberg's short stay in the Music City.
After all, the franchise began play as an expansion club during the 1998-99 campaign and to bring a championship to Tennessee in less than a decade would be quite an accomplishment for general manager David Poile and head coach Barry Trotz -- both of whom are the first and only people to hold their respective positions in club history.
To the uninitiated, Forsberg comes with quite a pedigree, having won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 1995 and the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2003. He has also played in five All-Star games, won a pair of Olympic gold medals with Sweden and lifted two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche.
The 33-year-old is a national hero in Sweden and is the only hockey player ever to be honored with a postage stamp in his native land.
As for Forsberg's time in Philadelphia, it was clearly diminished by injuries, but the guy is still one of the most valuable players in the NHL. He registered 115 points in 100 games since signing a two-year deal with the Flyers before the 2005-06 season. Forty of those points in a Philadelphia uniform came in his 40 games this year.
This season it was particularly evident what Forsberg's presence meant to the Flyers. Sure the team is on its way to possibly the worst campaign in franchise history, but the club had all 15 of its victories with Forsberg in the lineup and was a dismal 0-13-3 without it's former captain.
The skate and foot issues that bothered Forsberg for most of this season seem to have been taken care of, but it is possible those problems could rear their ugly head in Nashville. Still, Forsberg never gave less than a full effort when on the ice in Philly and he had to waive a no-trade clause to go to the Predators, so one must assume he's excited about the move.
"Peter Forsberg is one of the NHL's most complete players and the ultimate competitor - a consistent winner who has year in and year out been a difference maker in the Stanley Cup playoffs," said Poile. "He strengthens our club up the middle and will provide another battle-tested, veteran voice to our dressing room."
Also it cannot be underestimated what this deal should mean to Nashville's ability to draw a crowd. Despite the Predators' success so far this year, the team is still 23rd in the NHL in attendance with an average crowd of 14,695 fans per game. That could be because the team's most recognizable player before the Forsberg trade was Paul Kariya, who has had an excellent NHL career, but does not have the same cache as Peter the Great. Forsberg should make an immediate impact in that area when he makes his scheduled debut for the Predators in Saturday's home test against Minnesota.
From the Flyers standpoint, this was a trade that surely does not make them happy considering the high expectations the Forsberg signing originally brought to the franchise. However, it was a necessary deal that will make them better down the road.
Upshall gives Philly some much-needed speed, Parent is a blue-chip defensive prospect and the first and third-round picks will give the team a chance to add even more young talent to the roster. Plus, by trading Forsberg and not re-signing him, the Flyers give themselves even more room under the cap than the significant amount they were already expected to have.
The only really negative aspect of this trade for either team surfaced in Forsberg's post-trade press conference in Philadelphia on Thursday evening. In his meeting with the media, Forsberg hinted that retirement or a possible return to Philadelphia as a free agent in the offseason were not out of the question.
That's probably not what the Predators wanted to hear mere hours after they pulled off the biggest trade in franchise history. But, if the deal ends up bringing Lord Stanley's hardware to town, there will be few regrets in Nashville, no matter where Forsberg winds up next year.
<< Sharks acquire F Korolyuk from Devils
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks acquired forward
Alexander Korolyuk from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a third-round
pick in the 2007 NHL Draft.
Korolyuk has spent the last three seasons playing prima
<< NBA All-Star Weekend - Vegas Style
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 56th NBA All-Star Game will be played
this Sunday night. The East has won the last two and six of the last 10
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last season was no exc
<< Hawks' Johnson gets late reward
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hope Joe Johnson has a good travel agent, because it must
have been tough making those last-minute switches for this weekend.
It came very late, but Johnson was finally rewarded for his stellar season on
Wednesday when he
<< Sharapova, Serena pull out of Dubai event
Dubai, UAE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Russian Maria Sharapova and
Australian Open champion Serena Williams of the United States will skip next
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The U.S. Open champion and Aussie Open run
Real Madrid look for revenge on Betis >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Spanish La Liga gets underway
Saturday, Real Madrid will be looking for revenge on a suddenly resurgent Real
Betis squad.
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PSV looks to get break out of slump >>
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Jackson, Mullin, Vitale highlight Hall of Fame finalists >>
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Curtis Cup headed to Scotland in 2012 >>
Far Hills, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2012 Curtis Cup will take place at the
Nairn Golf Club. The announcement was made Friday by the United States
Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union.
The Nairn has hosted many amateur an
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.
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