Oilers getting out of free agent market

Hockey Betting Lines

05/19/2010 -

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Kevin Lowe has a new master plan for taking the Edmonton Oilers back to the proud days of the franchise's past.

It starts with the No. 1 pick in next month's draft, earned by having the NHL's worst record this season, and also includes an increased emphasis on developing players through the minor leagues while spending less on free agents.

Lowe, the Oilers' president of hockey operations, laid out the plan Wednesday as he visited Oklahoma City to unveil the new identity of the franchise's American Hockey League affiliate. The team, which will replace an affiliate in Massachusetts, will be known as the Barons.

``We've got to get back to what we did for a lot of years,'' said Lowe, who was promoted in 2008 after eight seasons as general manager. ``We've got to get back to our basic principles of drafting and development, get out of the free agent business.''

Edmonton made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006 as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but has missed the playoffs each year since - bottoming out by going 27-47-8 this season.

``It's a best-case scenario in a difficult time, and that's the way the system of sports is designed, right? When you have that kind of year, at the end of the day you get rewarded with the best player,'' said Lowe, who won five Stanley Cups as an Oilers player from 1984-90.

``We've found over the last decade that, except for the last couple years, we've been a competitive team but there wasn't really a year where we were considered a contender at the start of the year.''

Going through the worst of seasons made Lowe and the Oilers realize how much they needed to change. A string of injuries, including to goalie Nikolai Khabibulin - the team's big free-agent acquisition last offseason - and to right wing Ales Hemsky, forced the issue after what Lowe called ``a couple of troubling years.''

``It just seems to be in recent NHL history that the only way you become a contender is you have to go to the back of the bus for a while and regroup,'' Lowe said. ``We had a pile of injuries this year to key players and in some respects - having been at this for 10 years now - it's a blessing in disguise.

``It's almost like something hit us in the side of the head and said, 'OK, if you guys can't figure this out yourself, then we're going to do it for you.'''

Lowe said the Oilers had a new plan for success, to a certain degree modeled after the Chicago Blackhawks' ability to build around draft picks Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He also plans to hire a general manager based out of Oklahoma City - the franchise's top minor-league affiliate - who would be in charge of scouting out players other franchises might have missed.

``We've got to draft and develop here, more focus on resources spent toward development that will ultimately filter up to our team in Edmonton,'' Lowe said. ``To me, that's the formula of success. So, that bodes well for Oklahoma City here. We're definitely going to focus on spending more money on the development side of things.''

The Barons will begin playing at an upgraded Cox Convention Center in October after a full year without minor-league hockey in Oklahoma City. The Blazers of the Central Hockey League folded last year.

``I think they're going to see a lot of that fast-paced play,'' said Bob Funk Jr., the owner of Prodigal LLC, which operates the Barons. ``It's not the brawling type of teams that you had in the past. They're hockey professionals. These are guys that want to get to the NHL.''

Lowe said the placement of the AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City ``couldn't have come at a better time,'' as Edmonton goes through a rebuilding mode energized by the first selection in the June 25 draft.

``Getting the first overall pick is not the end all, be all. But we also have some good recent selections, guys that standing on their own merits are going to be good hockey players,'' Lowe said.

``If we were just relying on the first overall pick to sort of drag us out of the ashes, that's not going to happen.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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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.

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.