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Hossa's Cup quest leads him to Chicago

Hockey Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's every NHL player's dream to win a Stanley Cup title, and Marian Hossa is certainly no exception.

Over the past few years, Hossa's travels have taken him from Atlanta to Pittsburgh to Detroit, and despite appearing in back-to-back Cup Finals, the Slovakian sniper has still yet to raise hockey's ultimate prize.

On the first day of NHL free agency, Hossa decided that his best chance at winning it all resided in Chicago and, unlike last summer, he was willing to make a long-term commitment in order to make that dream a reality.

Hossa's story has become legendary in hockey circles because it's a tale filled with irony, betrayal and even a whiff of tragedy in the Greek or Shakespearean sense. And it all boils down to a decision Hossa made 12 months ago, a choice that he may continue to agonize over.

It all started when Hossa was dealt from Atlanta to Pittsburgh prior to the 2007-08 trade deadline. He played a huge part in the Penguins' run to the Cup Finals that year, but Pittsburgh wound up losing in six games to Detroit. That, of course, is what led to Hossa's infamous decision, as just weeks after the Pens fell to the Red Wings, he opted to turn down a lucrative multi-year offer to stay in Pittsburgh and sign a one-year deal with Detroit instead.

Of course, we all know how that ended. The Penguins and Red Wings met again this year in the Cup Finals, and Pittsburgh claimed the Cup with a thrilling seven-game series win.

So now, Hossa has decided to take his immense talent and perceived bad mojo to the youthful Blackhawks, who were dispatched by Detroit in the Western Conference finals this past spring. The big question is whether Hossa will get to the promised land with Chicago, or whether his heartache will continue.

The mistake Hossa made last year was trying to back-door his way into a championship by signing the short-term deal with Detroit. The Red Wings were also counting on the same type of playoff production Hossa had provided for the Pens in 2008, but instead he had a very disappointing postseason, including a final round with just three assists.

This time around, Hossa has made a huge commitment to the Blackhawks and vice versa. Chicago signed the 30-year-old winger to a mammoth 12-year, $62.8 million deal.

While no one disagrees that a scorer of Hossa's caliber will certainly make the Blackhawks a better team, there has been concern that a contract of that size could hurt Chicago down the line in terms of getting under the salary cap. After all, the Hawks are a very young team and players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg will be due big paydays in the coming years.

However, if Chicago is able to find a way to keep Hossa and that young core together, then the balance of power in the West may shift from Motown to the Windy City.

HABS, LEAFS GET BUSY

Canada's two most prominent NHL franchises were in the spotlight on Wednesday, as the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs made a series of moves on the first day of free agency.

The Canadiens had already made a splash by acquiring veteran center Scott Gomez on Tuesday in a seven-player trade with the New York Rangers. Montreal didn't stop there, as they also signed four players the following day, inking forwards Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta as well as defensemen Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek.

Toronto, meanwhile, traded Pavel Kubina and Tim Stapleton to Atlanta for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart. The Leafs also added toughness by signing enforcer Colton Orr.

But the Maple Leafs' biggest move came when they signed defenseman Mike Komisarek away from Montreal. With youngster Luke Schenn blossoming on the blue line, Komisarek gives Toronto another big body to help in the defensive end. Not to mention, the five-year, $22.5 million price tag for Komisarek is palatable, and leaves general manager Brian Burke room to maneuver during this rebuilding process.

The Habs, on the other hand, seemed to commit a great deal of money to a handful of players without improving their team by all that much. Gomez is scheduled to make $8 million next year, while Gionta and Cammalleri were given an average of $5 million and $6 million, respectively, over the next five seasons.

Cammalleri did have a huge year with the Flames in 2008-09, registering career-highs in goals (39) and points (82), but that was while playing on a line with Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow. The rabid fans in Montreal will expect him to duplicate those numbers next year with the Habs, and it could get ugly if he fails to live up to last year's output.

To be fair to the Canadiens, they have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and are not in full-blown rebuilding mode like the Maple Leafs, who have missed the postseason for four straight years. That, of course, makes it more difficult for Montreal to improve its club, and also makes it hard for the Leafs not to improve theirs.

There will be a slew of new faces when these clubs renew their fierce rivalry next season, but my guess is it won't take long for Habs and Leafs fans to memorize which players they are supposed to hate.

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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.

MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.