Gilroy wins 2009 Hobey Baker Award

Chockey Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Executive Committee announced Friday that Boston University senior defenseman Matt Gilroy was named the 29th winner of college hockey's most prestigious individual honor.

Named after a legendary Princeton hockey player who died in World War I, the award recognizes strength of character in players both on and off the ice.

Gilroy, who is captain of the Terriers, has posted eight goals and 36 points in 43 games. He led all Hockey East backliners in points and also ranks third in the nation in point total.

He is the second player in Boston University history to earn the honor, after current New York Rangers captain Chris Drury was named in 1998.

Gilroy is the first Hobey winner with a chance to lead his team to a national championship since Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold did so in 2002. That year, the Golden Gophers topped Maine in overtime for the title.

He is also the first player from Hockey East to win since Boston College senior defenseman Mike Mottau won in 2000.

Brad Thiessen, junior goalie from Northeastern, and Colin Wilson, sophomore forward and Gilroy's teammate from BU, were the other two finalists.

University of Michigan forward Ryan Porter took home the award last season.

Macimonline Chockey Betting News

<< Weeks leads Brewers' ninth-inning comeback over Cubs
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks doubled home the tying run in the ninth, took third on a ball in the dirt and scored the winning run on an infield hit with a head-first slide just ahead of the tag to give Milwaukee a thrilling 4-3

<< Pirates/Reds postponed
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park was postponed because of rain. A makeup date has not been announced. Pittsburgh's Jeff Karstens and Cincinnati

<< Colorado rocks Hamels, Phils in home opener
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins' first hit of the season -- a two-run homer -- highlighted a five-run third inning, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3, in the home opener at Coors Field. Ryan

<< Pettitte has strong outing as Yanks top Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte scattered three hits and one run through seven innings, as the New York Yankees topped Kansas City, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game set. Pettitte (1-0) held his foes in check with six

<< Driver charged with murder in Adenhart's death
Fullerton, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew Thomas Gallo is facing three felony murder counts in the drunken driving accident that killed Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart, The Orange County District Attorney announced the 22-yea

Mickelson bounces back with a 68 >>
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling to a one-over 73 on Thursday, Phil Mickelson bounced back with a four-under 68 Friday to move into share of 11th at three-under-par 141 after two rounds of the Masters. Mickelson was well o

Hawks F Marvin Williams returns to lineup >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams returned to the lineup in Friday's game with the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena after missing the last 16 with a lower back injury. The former North Carolina product is

Chase Field to host 2011 MLB All-Star Game >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will host the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. MLB has called a news conference for Saturday afternoon when an official announcement is expected from

Dodgers' Kuroda placed on DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left oblique muscle. Kuroda pitched on Opening Day for the Dodgers, earning the win after allow

Petrova sneaks into MPS semis, Wozniacki breezes in >>
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova barely won her quarterfinal match Friday at the inaugural MPS Group Championships. The world No. 10 Petrova had to come from behind to best seve

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


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 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.