08/25/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defenseman Bryan Berard will attend the Flyers' training camp in September on a try-out basis, Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren announced on Monday.
"Bryan has been around a number of years now," said Holmgren. "He has been a good defenseman for quite some time. I'm excited about Bryan's willingness to come here on a try-out. It will certainly pick up the competition level of what is going to take place in training camp anytime you can add a player like him. This is kind of an out-of-the-blue thing. It just kind of popped up over the last week to 10 days. We are looking forward to seeing how he does."
Originally selected first overall by Ottawa in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Berard sustained what many believed to be a career-ending eye injury during the 1999-2000 season while playing for Toronto.
"Basically, my agent, Tommy Laidlaw, talked to Paul Holmgren and thought that this was something that we felt would be a good situation for me to show what I have," said Berard. "I thank the Flyers for giving me this opportunity to try out. I am really looking forward to this."
The 31-year-old rearguard played in 54 games last season for the New York Islanders, compiling five goals and 22 points with a frosty minus-17 rating.
For his career, Berard has 76 goals and 323 points in 619 games with the Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Bruins, Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.
<< Blackhawks ink Aliu
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks signed right wing Akim
Aliu to a three-year contract on Monday.
A native of Okene, Nigeria, Aliu tallied a career-high 61 points (28 goals) in
60 regular-season games last season for
<< Packers' Harrell to miss at least six weeks
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Justin
Harrell was placed on the physically unable to perform list, assuring he will
miss the first six weeks of the regular season.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Tennessee
<< Nadal, Ferrer among winners on Day 1 at U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal's first match as a top
seed in a Grand Slam was anything but easy, but the world's top-ranked player
did advance in straight sets on the first day of play at the 2008 U.S. Open.
Nadal post
<< Texans WR Williams unlikely to resume career
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Harry Williams
is expected to walk again after having surgery to fuse together his cervical
spine, but his football career is likely over.
"Harry Williams is currently i
Report: Vols' Vinson, Langley suspended for one game >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Tennessee defensive back
Brent Vinson and defensive tackle Donald Langley have reportedly been
suspended for the team's first game of the season.
According to a report Monday
Vikings release veteran LB Pope >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings released veteran
linebacker Derrick Pope on Friday.
Pope, who was signed by Minnesota this past March, started a career-high nine
games with the Miami Dolphins last season an
Jankovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva, Davenport win at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Olympic gold medalist Elena
Dementieva of Russia and former champions Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and
Lindsay Davenport of the United States were among the winners on the first day
of acti
Pelfrey and Delgado help Mets crush Astros >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Pelfrey pitched his second consecutive
complete game, and Carlos Delgado hit a pair of three-run home runs, as the
New York Mets blasted Houston, 9-1, to earn a split in the four-game series.
Pelfre
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
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Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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