Kovalchuk happy to return to New Jersey

Hockey Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils made it official on Tuesday and re-introduced superstar left wing Ilya Kovalchuk, who agreed to a 17-year contract worth a reported $102 million on Monday.

Kovalchuk was acquired by the Devils last February in a trade with Atlanta and tested the free agent waters this summer before deciding to return to New Jersey.

"This was a tough process for me. This was the biggest decision of my life," said Kovalchuk at Tuesday's press conference. "I believe I made the best choice for me and my family."

New Jersey and the Los Angeles Kings were Kovalchuk's two main pursuers since the free agent signing period began July 1.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported terms of the contract, breaking down the pact year-by-year. He's due to earn $6 million in each of the next two seasons, $11.5 million from 2012-17 and $10.5 million the following year. The salary falls off after that until he makes $550,000 annually the final five years of the deal. He would be 44 years old when the contract concludes in 2027.

"I'll only be 44, so I hope I'm going to keep myself in shape to keep playing," Kovalchuk quipped.

Kovalchuk played 27 games last season for the Devils after being acquired from Atlanta and compiled 10 goals and 17 assists to help New Jersey win the Atlantic Division crown. He added two goals and four assists in five playoff games as the Devils were ousted by Philadelphia in the first round.

"There is unfinished business from last season," Kovalchuk added. "That was the biggest reason I wanted to stay here. I know we're going to do much better in the future years than we did last year."

Kovalchuk 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. 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 and gives the Devils an offensive player in the prime of his career, something the organization has never really had, but at a price the franchise has never before paid.

"What you have to understand is we just built a tremendous facility here, and [the owners] have made a commitment to winning. This type of a decision is for that reason," Devils CEO Lou Lamoriello said about why the team broke from its usual frugal direction.

"We have a player that will complement the players we have, that [in turn] will complement him. The logo in front will always be more important than the name on the back. The thing I feel the best about is there's nothing more important than the team. I spoke with Ilya about that when he first came here."

Kovalchuk also said as much Tuesday, also acknowledging teammates Martin Brodeur, Jamie Langenbrunner, Zach Parise and Patrik Elias, who were in attendance.

"We have an unbelievable group of guys, I can't name all of them," Kovalchuk noted, adding that the franchise's winning past also played a role in his decision. "The history, first of all, then -- when I first came here -- I saw the way the organization treats its players. I'll be a Devil for life. They're a first-class organization."

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.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.