Ducks bring back Koivu

Hockey Betting Lines

07/01/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks have signed center Saku Koivu to a two-year contract.

As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced.

The 35-year-old Koivu netted 19 goals and added 33 assists over 71 games for the Ducks last season, his first in Anaheim.

He spent the first 13 seasons of his career with Montreal and has tallied 210 goals and 693 points in 863 career games. Koivu has added 16 goals and 32 helpers in 54 career playoff contests.

The Finland native served as the Canadiens captain for 10 years starting in 1999, matching legendary centerman Jean Beliveau for the longest stretch as team captain in franchise history.

Koivu was the 21st overall selection in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and has won the Bill Masterton Trophy, in 2001-02, and the 2007 King Clancy Memorial Trophy in addition to representing his country in four Olympic Games.

Wwwroyalsports Hockey Betting News

<< Lightning bring in goaltender Ellis
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their moves on the free-agent market Thursday by signing goaltender Dan Ellis to a two-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the St. Pete Times reported it i

<< Thrashers get Ladd from Blackhawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Andrew Ladd from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday in exchange for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a second-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. Ladd had spent the las

<< Whitney signs with Coyotes
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes added scoring depth Thursday, signing veteran winger Ray Whitney to a two-year deal. The 38-year-old Whitney, who recorded 21 goals and 58 points in 80 games for Carolina last year

<< Sabres ink Leopold to three-year deal
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres filled one vacancy on defense Thursday, signing free-agent Jordan Leopold to a three-year deal. Leopold split last season between Florida and Pittsburgh, racking up 11 goals and 26 po

<< Rangers acquire Molina from Giants
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have acquired catcher Bengie Molina and cash from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Chris Ray and Michael Main. Molina will join the Rangers on Friday when they open a

Stars agree to terms with Burish, Raycroft >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars have agreed to terms with center Adam Burish and goaltender Andrew Raycroft on two-year contracts. Burish's deal is worth $2.3 million, while the first year of Raycroft's deal is a

Four share AT&T lead; Woods seven back >>
Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Watney fired a four-under 66 Thursday to grab a share of the lead after the opening round of the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club. Watney was joined atop the leaderboard by J

Jazz sign draft picks Hayward, Evans >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz announced the signings of their 2010 draft class Thursday, bringing forwards Gordon Hayward and Jeremy Evans on board with undisclosed contracts. Hayward, selected ninth overall, was a

Na Yeon Choi leads Jamie Farr >>
Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Korea's Na Yeon Choi shot a seven-under 64 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Choi had eight birdies and one bogey on the Highland Meadows course to ta

Padres reinstate Stairs, Stauffer from DL >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres reinstated outfielder Matt Stairs and pitcher Tim Stauffer from the 15-day disabled list Thursday. Stairs was dealing with a strained right knee, while Stauffer suffered with append

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.