Crafty Yzerman making his mark with Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

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.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.