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09/04/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will finally join the New Jersey Devils after his re-submitted contract was officially and finally approved by the National Hockey League just before 3 a.m. (et) Saturday morning.
The re-worked contract now calls for Kovalchuk to collect a reported $100 million over 15 years, with an annual cap hit of close to $6.66 million. The deal is thought to pay out $90 million in the first 10 years and $10 million over the last five.
Kovalchuk's initial 17-year, $102 million deal with the Devils was rejected by the league on the grounds that it circumvented the league's salary cap. The deal was front-loaded so Kovalchuk could have earned as much money as possible while providing the lowest possible cap hit for the team.
The NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on Kovalchuk's behalf, but an arbitrator ruled in favor of the league. The Russian star, now 27, would be approaching age 43 when the contract expires.
The rejection of the contract provided much debate throughout the league in terms of "lifetime" contracts given to players that have helped reduce the yearly salary cap hit. Several players in previous years signed deals that took them past 40 years of age and saw the annual salary dip below $1 million in the final years of the contract.
The NHL and NHLPA together, did away with those scenarios in one fell swoop Friday, jointly adopting new regulations on such pacts while simultaneoulsy ruling on Kovalchuk's situation after a whirlwind of postponements on a ruling that stretched well into the night.
The new rules will apply only to long-term contracts, five years or longer in length, and only those going forward beyond the September 4 ruling date. All previous contracts are grandfathered in, meaning Kovalchuk's contract will likely be the last of its kind.
To that end, the two entities also announced that the league will terminate its circumvention investigations into the contracts signed in 2009 by Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers.
"We are pleased to finalize an agreement which ends the league's circumvention investigations and also establishes rules on long-term contracts that will provide players, their certified agents and general managers clarity for the negotiation of new contracts," said Roland Lee, associate counsel for the NHLPA and director of Salary Cap/Marketplace. "Turning the page on this process is something that will benefit all parties involved."
Taking into account the NHL's salary cap system and forthcoming CBA negotiations, a special calculation of value will be made in two ways for contracts that extend beyond a player's 41st birthday, and any long-term contract that averages more than $5.75 million for the three highest- compensation years will have rules put into place that limit that player's compensation to a minimum of $1 million between the ages of 36 and 40.
Because of the league's previous rules on player contracts after the age of 35, it was conceivable that someone could retire before a contract had expired, wiping the contract off the salary cap. This rule allowed teams to sign players to front-loaded contracts to benefit both the team and player.
"We're pleased to be able to establish clearly-defined rules for these types of contracts going forward and just as happy we can turn the page on uncertainties relating to several other existing contracts," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "From start to finish of this multi-week process we were able to work closely and cooperatively with representatives of the Players' Association, who shared our belief that the creation of definitive rules and guidelines in this area would be beneficial to everyone -- clubs and players alike."
Kovalchuk's deal will reportedly take the team about $3 million over the salary cap with 21 players under contract, and the Devils will have to get under the $59.4 million cap before the beginning of the season while adding two more players to the roster.
Kovalchuk posted 41 goals and 85 points in 76 games last season, 10 goals and 27 points coming in 27 games with New Jersey. In a five-game first-round playoff loss, the 27-year-old added two goals and six points.
In 621 games since entering the league in 2001, he has accumulated 338 goals and 642 points with Atlanta and New Jersey.
<< Rockies extend San Diego's losing streak to eight
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki each hit a
two-run homer, as the Colorado Rockies dealt San Diego an eighth consecutive
defeat, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game series.
Aaron Cook (5-8), who was acti
<< A's blank struggling Angels behind Gonzalez
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Pennington and Kevin Kouzmanoff each
homered during a six-run seventh, as the Oakland Athletics dominated the
Angels, 8-0, in the opener of a three-game series.
Gio Gonzalez (13-8) tossed si
<< Giants trade for Sage Rosenfels
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have found a
backup quarterback after acquiring Sage Rosenfels from the Minnesota Vikings
on Friday.
The trade also saw running back and return specialist Darius Reynaud h
<< D-Backs edge Astros
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Augie Ojeda's sacrifice fly in the bottom of
the eighth delivered the winning run as Arizona downed Houston, 4-3, to start
a three-game set.
Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Gerardo Pa
Sisk keeps lead at Mylan Classic >>
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geoffrey Sisk remained atop the leaderboard
Saturday when the second round of the rain-delayed Mylan Classic was
completed.
Sisk played the final three holes of his round and finished off a four
Georgia holds A.J. Green out of opener >>
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Georgia star receiver A.J. Green is being held out of the Bulldogs' opening game against Louisiana-Lafayette.Georgia spokesman Claude Felton says Green will miss Saturday's game for the No. 23 Bulldogs pending a ruling from the NCA
Scorching Yanks seek eight straight win in test with Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The New York Yankees have solved just about all their
problems during a seven-game winning streak that matches the team's longest of
the season. The defending world champions will now turn their attention
towards getting Jav
Red Sox, White Sox to begin set with double dip >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- After mother nature delayed the opening of this important
weekend set, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox will renew acquaintances
with a day-night doubleheader that begins this afternoon from Fenway Park.
The arriv
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
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Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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