Bpbcats Hockey Betting News

<< Bruins re-sign F Paille
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins re-signed forward Daniel Paille to a two-year contract on Thursday. Boston acquired Paille from Buffalo during the 2009-10 season and the former first-round pick of the Sabres notched

<< Phillies' skipper Manuel suspended
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his aggressive arguing and inappropriate contact with an umpire during the 10th inning

<< Six-run fourth carries Tribe to first sweep of Jays since '95
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt LaPorta and Shelley Duncan hit back-to- back home runs during a six-run fourth inning rally that carried Cleveland to a 6-1 win and four-game series sweep over Toronto. Trevor Crowe had three hits and

<< Blues provide four-year extension for Steen
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues inked restricted free- agent forward Alex Steen to a four-year contract extension on Thursday. The 26-year-old native of Winnipeg and son of Jets franchise icon Thomas Steen posted car

Chris Simms arrested >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans quarterback Chris Simms was reportedly arrested early Thursday morning and charged with driving under the influence of marijuana. The New York Post reported the 29-year-old Simms was drivin

Derksen goes low for lead in Paris >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert-Jan Derksen fired an eight-under 63 on Thursday to take the opening-round lead of the Open de France at Le Golf National. Defending champion Martin Kaymer, Alejandro Canizares and Frenchman Jea

Flyers bring in O'Donnell >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers made yet another move to add depth to their defense, signing veteran blueliner Sean O'Donnell to a one-year contract on Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclo

Gay decides to stay in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just one day after getting a qualifying offer from the team, forward Rudy Gay has agreed to stay in Memphis as he will sign a five-year deal with the Grizzlies. It is being reported that the deal cou

Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.