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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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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