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08/16/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the decision to forego college, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jerry D'Amigo and Montreal Canadiens first rounder Jarred Tinordi have joined a growing list of NHL draft picks to put down the books in favor of opportunism.
Although there is still immense talent throughout the college system, the repercussions of losing some of the brightest up-and-coming stars could have damaging long-term effects on hockey programs across the United States.
D'Amigo, a sixth-round pick in 2009, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Leafs on Wednesday in the hopes of cracking the big squad out of training camp this fall.
As a result of D'Amigo's aspirations, he lost his NCAA eligibility and cannot return to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he posted 10 goals and 24 assists in 35 games en route to being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) rookie of the year.
If the 19-year old fails to impress in camp, his options include taking a trip down the road to suit up for the Toronto Marlies, or opt for the OHL and join the Kitchener Rangers, the owner of his junior rights.
While it is unlikely D'Amigo abandoned his fellow Engineers at RPI to play in the OHL, riding the bus in the American Hockey League is a different story, especially with the parent club in the same city.
Regardless of where the speedy winger starts the season, NHL action seems to be in the cards at some point this year, a mind-boggling revelation considering his development and expectations only a year ago.
Unlike D'Amigo who gave it the old college try (for one year, anyway), Tinordi changed course only a few weeks before he was slated to head off to study and play at the University of Notre Dame.
Instead, the hulking 6'6" defenseman will pack his bags and join Dale Hunter and the London Knights in the OHL.
Tinordi, the 22nd overall in this year's entry draft, is a bruising stay-at- home defenseman with a booming shot and good mobility. He also displayed his leadership qualities this past season as the captain of the U.S. National Development team.
Studying the game in the ultra-competitive OHL while honing his skills under the reigning coach of the year will do wonders for his progress, and was likely a major reason for the move.
Unfortunately for the NCAA, the current economic climate in the NHL, combined with the advanced development regiments of the OHL and the U.S. national team has allowed for a quicker transition to professional hockey.
In the salary cap world, players on entry-level deals become invaluable and opportunities arise sooner than they have in previous years. Thus, committing to four years of college has become a less attractive option for many.
Besides Tinordi, fellow draftees Cam Fowler and Jack Campbell also revoked their commitments to Notre Dame and Michigan, respectively, and fled to Windsor to join the Spitfires.
Dropping out of college and passing up thousands of dollars worth of scholarship money does not usually equate to success in the real world. But in the NHL, when ample opportunities call for younger, cheaper players, the math speaks for itself.
<< Pirates return home to face Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following a dreadful road trip, the Pittsburgh Pirates
make a welcome return to PNC Park tonight for a 10-game homestand that begins
with the first of four straight meetings with the Florida Marlins.
Pittsburgh lost every
<< Dodgers, Braves open series at Turner Field
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The absence of a couple of key regulars didn't affect the
Atlanta Braves' offense in their last outing. The National League East front-
runners will attempt to build off Sunday's scoring barrage when they complete
a four-game
<< Mets carry their road woes into Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The road hasn't been good to the New York Mets this
season, and especially so after the All-Star break. They'll try to reverse
those recent struggles when they head to Minute Maid Park tonight to begin a
four-game series with
<< Jays begin series in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaun Marcum hopes to put the brakes on a personal two-
start losing streak this evening when the Toronto Blue Jays begin a three-game
series against the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum.
Marcum had closed the month o
Johnson's PGA snafu was avoidable >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What happened to Dustin Johnson on Sunday
at the PGA Championship was cruel, vicious, heartbreaking and borderline
tragic.
"Joke."
"Terrible for golf."
Tim Rosaforte of the Golf Channel reported some
Panthers bring WR Smith off PUP list >>
Spartanburg, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers activated wide
receiver Steve Smith off the physically unable to perform list Monday.
The moved frees Smith, who suffered a broken left arm in June while playing
flag footba
Boston batters Sky Blue FC >>
Cambridge, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Breakers continued their
impressive run on Sunday with a resounding 4-0 win over Sky Blue FC at Harvard
Stadium.
The Breakers got goals from four different players as they recorded t
Magic sign Stanley Robinson >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic have signed forward Stanley
Robinson, the team's second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Robinson, who was taken 59th overall, played on Orlando'
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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