Leafs-Oilers not what it used to be

Hockey Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was a time when the Edmonton Oilers playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on a Saturday night was a glittering affair.

In the 1980s, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Co. would come in to Maple Leaf Gardens and dismantle the Leafs, as they did most other teams, but it was OK because it was a chance for fans to see the Brantford-born Gretz and his fast- skatin', high-scorin' teammates up close.

There was a buzz in the air, scalpers were giddy with the outrageous premiums they received for even their lousiest ducats, and transplanted Albertans living in Toronto could rejoice as their team stuck it to the self-absorbed, big-city Leaf lovers.

These days, not so much.

Only the truly puck pious - and there are many in Leafs (Abomi-)Nation - could get excited about Saturday's matchup pitting the NHL's 29th-place team (Leafs) against the 30th-place team (Oilers). Only the Boston Bruins, who hold Toronto's first-round pick in each of the next two entry drafts, could muster excitement for this clunker.

That said, the storyline was Pat Quinn coaching his first game for another NHL team in Toronto since the Leafs fired him following the 2005-06 season. Not surprisingly, the barrel-chested Irishman was featured in a welcome-back video during the first period. It was a nice touch, but the Leafs will likely do a welcome-back video for Jamal Mayers and Matt Stajan, too, so there you go. And don't rule out a Pavel Kubina bobblehead at some point.

CROSS-CANADA CHECK-UP

MONTREAL CANADIENS: The Montreal Canadiens are hot. The Habs have won 10 of their last 14 games and eight of those victories have been backstopped by Jaroslav Halak. Nothing like a goaltending controversy to send the always-rabid Montreal hockey media into a full, salivating frenzy. Will Halak stay? Will he go? Will Carey Price be traded? Who knows? Who cares? As long as the Canadiens keep winning, fans will love them - win or tie.

OTTAWA SENATORS: From mid-January to the Olympic break, the Sens won an amazing 14 of 16 games, which made my good friend Brett very, very happy. You see, he is a lifelong Sens fan, and I'm not sure he's ever fully recovered from the 2007 Stanley Cup final and Ottawa's less-than-stellar performance in a five- game series loss. Since the Olympic break ended, however, the Sens have lost five of six. In those six games, Ottawa has scored eight goals. The team has scored more than one goal in only one of those six games since the medals were presented. Jonathan Cheechoo, after scoring 56 goals in 2005-06, had five in 61 games this season before being dispatched to AHL Binghamton on the eve of the Olympics. In 13 games with the Baby Sens, Cheech has four goals and four assists.

CALGARY FLAMES: The Flaming C's have won five of six games as bronze-medal- winning goalie Miikka Kiprusoff continues his mule-like workload with apparently few negative effects. The Flames are now one point behind Detroit for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Anyone else wondering if there is just a wee bit of awkwardness between Canucks teammates and Olympians Roberto Luongo (Canada) and Ryan Kesler (USA)? And is teammate Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) looking at Kesler and saying, "If it weren't for that ridiculous save Louie made in the dying seconds of the semi-final, it coulda been me in the gold-medal game"? The Canucks have won eight of their last 12 games and are tied with the surprising Phoenix Coyotes for third in the West. More importantly, the Canucks survived a 14-game, month-and-a-half road trip because of the Olympics. They welcomed fans back Saturday with a convincing 5-1 drubbing of the Ottawa Senators in their first home match since January 27.

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Stephen Knight is a Toronto-based writer who has written about hockey since 1994.

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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.

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