Stars sign veteran D Lukowich, three others

Hockey Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars signed veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich and two others to one-year, two-way contracts on Friday.

Lukowich, 33, has registered 23 goals and 90 assists in 653 regular season NHL games with six teams. He returns to the Stars, where he spent parts of five seasons with the club from 1997-2002 and helped Dallas win the Stanley Cup in the 1998-99 campaign. Lukowich also won a Cup with Tampa Bay in the 2003-04 season.

Over 71 playoff contests, the blueliner has one goal and six points.

The Stars also agreed to terms with defenseman Trevor Ludwig and forward Raymond Sawada on one-year, two-way contracts, while defenseman Maxime Fortunus inked a two-year, two-way contract.

Fortunus, 26, skated eight games with the NHL club in 2009-10 and did not tally a point, while Ludwig, 25, a sixth-round selection of the Stars in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, has no NHL experience. Sawada, a 24-year-old, saw action in five games for the Stars last year and did not register a point.

Wwwsportnews Hockey Betting News

<< AL Central: Tribe's future will take shape in second half
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For Cleveland Indians fans, the hard part is over. They've endured a first half of the season that saw their team finish 20 games below .500 (34-54) and fall 15 1/2 games off the pace in the American League Central. Grante

<< Roberts, Skelton under contract
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals will head into training camp with their two FCS draft choices, quarterback John Skelton and wide receiver Andre Roberts, signed to four-year contracts. Skelton was the Cardinals' fifth-rou

<< Predators sign Lundmark
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators signed center Jamie Lundmark to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday. The 29-year-old appeared in 36 games between Calgary and Toronto in the 2009-10 season and tallied five

<< EWU home victories would turn opponents red
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to boost exposure, Eastern Washington University will literally go in the red this year, replacing the traditional grass surface of Woodward Field with red artificial turf. The move is admitte

<< As the wind blows, scores soar at St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After second-round play was stopped for 66 minutes at the British Open, the wind continued to blow at St. Andrews, and in the process, sent scores soaring. With the final group midway through th

Union hopes to halt Toronto's unbeaten run >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC will be trying to extend its unbeaten streak to nine games on Saturday when they visit PPL Park to face the Philadelphia Union. Toronto recorded a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids last

N.Y. visits Columbus with first place at stake >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew host Red Bull New York in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday night in Major League Soccer action. The Crew are two points up on the Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference table. Columbus (8

Real shoots for more road success at Dallas >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake forward Robbie Findley said after a recent win at the Chicago Fire one of our goals this year was to "improve on our road record." Findley converted a penalty in the 1-0 win on July 8, helping Rea

Bulls add another former Utah player in Brewer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with guard Ronnie Brewer. According to a report on the team's website, the Bulls made the move for Brewer after the Magic matched the team

NFL suspends Packers' Jolly indefinitely >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has suspended Packers' defensive lineman Johnny Jolly indefinitely without pay for violating the league's Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. Jolly's suspension takes e

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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