Sabres ink Leopold to three-year deal

Hockey Betting Lines

07/01/2010 - 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 points in 81 contests but was a minus-two.

A former second-round choice of Anaheim back in 1999, the 29-year-old Minnesota native has produced 40 goals and 135 points in 436 NHL games with the Flames, Avalanche, Panthers and Penguins since breaking into the league in 2002.

The signing was the first step in offsetting the departures of Toni Lydman, who left for a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks and Henrik Tallinder, who fled to New Jersey.

Cowboycasion Hockey Betting News

<< 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

<< 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

<< Maple Leafs ink Armstrong
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs signed free agent forward Colby Armstrong to a three-year contract on Thursday. The 27-year-old Armstrong, who had been with Atlanta since coming over from Pittsburgh bef

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<< Spain's Martinez injured in training
Potchefstroom, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain midfielder Javier Martinez left practice Thursday after injuring his ankle and could miss Saturday's FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Paraguay. Spain released a statement

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

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

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

Ducks bring back Koivu >>
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 t

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

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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