Pekka a Rinne-stone Cowboy in Nashville
Hockey Betting Lines
02/07/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Those not convinced that the Nashville Predators are in it to win long term need to look no further than the massive contract that general manager David Poile dished out to goaltender Pekka Rinne back in November.
Like the protagonist in Glen Campbell's iconic '70s hit, Rinne has paid his dues and was rewarded with a seven-year, $49 million deal that just so happens to be the largest the club has ever dished out. It also comes after a breakout 2010-11 campaign for the 29-year-old in which he notched career bests in wins (33), goals-against average (2.12) and save percentage (.930) to net a Vezina Trophy nomination.
Rinne has done nothing this year to make Poile regret his decision to invest heavily in the Finn. Heading into action on Tuesday, Rinne was in the midst of a franchise-record 11-game win streak and has gone 14-1-0 with a 1.72 GAA since Dec. 28. He is just the fifth goaltender since 1998-99 to have a personal win streak of 11 games, a list that includes a Hall of Famer in Patrick Roy, a future Hall of Famer in Martin Brodeur, and a Stanley Cup champion in Marc-Andre Fleury.
But it's not just numbers with Rinne. Head coach Barry Trotz said after his netminder basically stole a 3-1 win over the Blues on Saturday that it is the timing and composure of Rinne that makes him one of the game's best.
"He's stopping the puck and making the big save when the game's on the line, and he's been doing that when momentum's coming at us. When you talk about special people in this league, he's one of them," said Trotz.
Case in point came in the third period with the Preds up by just a goal. After getting a little help from the post to deny the Blues' Kris Russell, and left seemingly out of position, Rinne dove to his left and made an incredible stop on the defenseman's second attempt just seconds later.
Russell probably should have been staring at a sure-fire goal, but instead just became the latest star on Rinne's highlight reel.
"He just kind of had an open net ... and I was able to get it with my glove. That was a big save at the time. You know, sometimes you just work your hardest and you get lucky," said Rinne, who made 19 saves in the third frame to give Nashville a league-best 14-3-0 mark since Dec. 28.
Luck has nothing to do with it according to Trotz.
"There's not too many goaltenders in this league who would make that save and that's why I keep saying he's the best one and he proved it tonight."
Added Trotz, "Not only is he incredibly athletic ... but his ability just to will himself, he's so competitive. Even in practice, he doesn't want to get scored on. He's always wired and never quits on the play, quits on the puck and he can contort with his athletic ability to do some incredible things."
Rinne's impact on the club isn't just felt on the ice either. The fact that he is scheduled to be in the Music City for the rest of this decade should make Nashville a desirable place to play, especially for a defenseman. That is something pending free agent Ryan Suter should keep in mind as he decides his Preds future.
Fresh off an All-Star appearance, Suter has said he won't discuss his contract status until after the season, though he clarified that doesn't necessarily mean he wants to become a free agent. Still, Poile must now gauge if he will be able to keep Suter in the mix and hold onto his star defender, or deal the 27- year-old before the trade deadline.
Some advice for Poile: Hold on to Suter as well as fellow defenseman and future restricted free agent, captain Shea Weber. With Rinne in top form, the Predators are poised to make their deepest postseason run since coming into the league in 1998-99. Suter is a big part of that as well and is worth the risk of losing this offseason.
Nashville's brief history is littered with the club trading away some of its biggest stars -- the names Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Tomas Vokoun and Dan Hamhuis come to mind -- but the Preds should keep Suter and Weber off that list.
With Rinne between the pipes, why mess with a good thing?
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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.
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.