Kovalchuk heading back to New Jersey

Hockey Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk is heading back to New Jersey and will re-sign with the Devils.

According to the team's website, the Devils will hold a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Prudential Center to make it official.

The Devils and the Los Angeles Kings were Kovalchuk's two main pursuers since the free agent signing period began July 1. Terms of the deal for the left wing have been reported as about $60 million over seven years.

Kovalchuk played 27 games last season for the Devils after being acquired from Atlanta in a February 4 trade. He turned down reported offers of $70 million over seven years and $100 million over 12 years from the Thrashers, who finally gave up on re-signing the sniper and sent him to New Jersey in a package that netted Atlanta defenseman Johnny Oduya, right wing Niclas Bergfors, forward Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick.

Selected with the first overall pick of the 2001 draft, Kovalchuk twice reached 52 goals with Atlanta and last season combined to score 41 goals in 76 games. He compiled 10 goals and 17 assists in 27 games for New Jersey, then added two goals and four assists in five playoff games as the Devils were beaten by Philadelphia in the first round.

The 27-year-old Russian native has 338 goals and 304 assists for 642 points in 621 regular-season games. He is Atlanta's all-time leader in virtually every offensive category.

It's been a busy offseason for the Devils, as the club named John MacLean its new head coach and signed defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Anton Volchenkov. New Jersey also re-acquired center Jason Arnott, who scored a double-overtime goal in the clinching Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas, in a trade with Nashville.

Wpokerbattle Hockey Betting News

<< AP Source: Rich Cho named new Blazers GM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -A person with knowledge of the hiring process says the Trail Blazers have named Oklahoma City assistant GM Rich Cho as Portland's new general manager.The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity b

<< Mainz seals Fuchs loan deal
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mainz have completed the one-year loan signing of Christian Fuchs from Bochum. The Austrian midfielder has the option of making the deal permanent next year following Bochum's relegation from the Bun

<< Barbosa key to Raptors' team concept
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors are moving in a new direction, the focus no longer on the talents of Chris Bosh, but on a collective approach to playing the game. Bosh recently joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in

<< Valero returns to Spain with Villarreal
Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich Albion have cut their losses on Borja Valero after allowing the midfielder to return to Spain with Villarreal. Valero, 25, joined the Baggies from Mallorca for a club record $7 mill

<< Four finalists return to Buck Buchanan Award Watch List
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The race for the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award, sponsored by Fathead.com, kicked off Monday with The Sportsbook Betting Lines's announcement that four finalists from last season are part of a stellar 20- player Watch List f

Liverpool wins race to sign Joe Cole >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has agreed to sign a four-year contract with Liverpool, the club announced on Monday. The 28-year-old Cole left the Blues last month after he was not offered a

Padres extend manager Black's contract >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres announced Monday that they have extended manager Bud Black's contract through the 2013 season with club options for the 2014 and 2015 campaigns. "I am really happy to announce that

Celtics re-sign Nate Robinson >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have re-signed guard Nate Robinson. Terms of the deal were not released, but the Boston Herald reported last week that the diminutive guard agreed to a two-year, $8 million pact. Bosto

Wrong year for Life At Ten to be so good >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the two leading thoroughbreds in training are also the top female racehorses in the country, it becomes difficult for any other filly or mare to get recognized. This is the situation that confronts fi

Hurricanes sign C Nash >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have signed center Riley Nash to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will pay Nash $550,000 in 2010-11, $600,000 in 2011-12 and $700,000 in 2012-13 at the NHL level. H

Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com