Free agency a bust so far for Kings

Hockey Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles area is home to Venice Beach, Hollywood and the famous 90210 zip code. The Fresh Prince once called it home (on television at least), and former Yankee icon Joe Torre made the jump from the Big Apple to the City of Angels.

There is no doubt that Los Angeles has a certain appeal that draws in the masses.

Unless you play in the NHL.

Despite being considered a franchise back on the rise, the Los Angeles Kings have yet to make a splash in free agency. Apparently, a team coming off a 12- win, 22-point improvement isn't very enticing for those skaters looking to relocate.

Not that the Kings haven't been in the headlines since free agency began on July 1. Los Angeles had been linked to the top unemployed prize, Ilya Kovalchuk, but was unable to convince the Russian sniper to lower his asking price and come out west, leading general manager Dean Lombardi to announce on Monday that his team was pulling out of the bidding war.

(The Los Angeles Times did report on Wednesday that the Kings were back in the hunt for Kovalchuk's services, but followed up on Thursday that they were again backing away from the high-priced winger.)

While the Kings were wasting their time courting Kovalchuk, they failed to add scoring help alongside lamp-lighter Anze Kopitar, the hard-working Dustin Brown and veteran leader Ryan Smyth, while Norris Trophy nominee Drew Doughty and fellow young blueliner Jack Johnson have yet to receive any new help at the back end.

Off the market are forward Ray Whitney and defensemen Anton Volchenkov, Dan Hamhuis and Paul Martin, leaving the Kings staring at a free agency list that now includes a host of players that come with questions, including hot-and- cold forwards Lee Stempniak and Alexei Ponikarovsky and injury-plagued defenders Willie Mitchell and Kim Johnsson.

That's not what you want to see when you are a club that is coming off its first playoff appearance since 2002 and resides in a tough Pacific Division.

In fact, free agency has so far only seen the losses of enforcer Raitis Ivanans (whose toughness has yet to be replaced) and defenseman Sean O'Donnell. It also appears as if the Kings aren't interested in bringing back their own free agent Alexander Frolov, a talented forward with questionable work ethic who could end up jumping ship to the KHL.

Cap space isn't an issue for the Kings, but appeal apparently is. The good news for Los Angeles is that years of stockpiling top-end draft picks, in addition to a logjam in net, gives the team depth to make some trades.

Reports have linked Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne, a two-time 40-goal scorer, to the Kings, and Ducks forward Bobby Ryan's name has popped up as well. Gagne comes with some risk as he has dealt with injuries in two of his last three seasons (including the dreaded concussion), and a move for the unhappy Ryan out in Anaheim will likely deal quite a blow to Los Angeles' prospects pool.

The Kings say they passed on Kovalchuk, a two-time 50-goal scorer, because his cost wouldn't allow them to keep together their young core. Doughty, Johnson and Wayne Simmonds are set for restricted free agency following 2010-11, and the philosophy based on keeping them around also smartly kept them from overpaying for some of this year's free agency group (think six years for Volchenkov by New Jersey or four years, $6.5 million by the Rangers for Derek Boogaard).

Still, for a club that hasn't been a fixture in the playoffs for the good part of this century, not making any type of moves has Los Angeles on the brink of losing the momentum captured with an excellent 2009-10 campaign.

Perhaps the Kings had too many eggs in the Kovalchuk basket or maybe the west coast just doesn't appeal to those who skate on a frozen pond, but hey, it was good enough for Wayne Gretzky.

And if Gretzky can't make some calls on the Kings behalf, maybe Jed Clampett can.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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