Leafs' Kadri in for some heavy lifting

Hockey Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nothing says pressure like holding the weight of a Stanley Cup-starved city on your shoulders.

But regardless of how you look at it - fortunately or unfortunately - that is the reality for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri.

The 19-year-old London native will be given every opportunity this summer to shed his penciled-in status on coach Ron Wilson's roster in exchange for a permanent position on the blue and white.

To do so, Kadri will not only have to bulk up - despite already adding 15 pounds of muscle this offseason - and improve his defensive play, he will need to grow a thick skin in order to survive in this hockey-crazed market.

And it certainly won't be an easy thing to do after the Boston Bruins nabbed highly touted prospect Tyler Seguin with Toronto's second overall pick in this year's draft, leaving Kadri as the young messiah in a devout hockey Mecca.

Luke Schenn, the Leafs' fifth overall pick in 2008, once wore this crown, but the expectations of a sturdy stay-at-home defender are modest in comparison to a dynamic offensive juggernaut.

While it might be early to group Kadri under the "dynamic offensive juggernaut" umbrella, his performance up-to-date has certainly warranted heightened expectations.

After nearly cracking the Leafs' roster out of training camp a season ago, Kadri returned to his junior team, the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, and lit the league on fire.

He finished tied for fourth in scoring with 93 points in 56 games, while racking up another 27 in 12 playoff games and earning a spot on Canada's World Junior team.

The silky-smooth forward also brings along a strong pedigree, having been pumped out of Dale Hunter's hockey machine in London.

Hunter breeds professionalism, respect and responsibility - all culminating factors that have helped transform Kadri from a skill player into a complete player.

Just take a look at the likes of Corey Perry and Dave Bolland, two flashy forwards in London who parlayed the hard-knock lessons of Hunter into NHL success and Stanley Cup rings.

That's not to say Kadri will follow the fate of the two former Knights, but it does speak volumes to the type of player that Kadri can become: an in your face, pain-in-the-you-know-what, point-producing competitor.

Toronto general manager Brian Burke recently said to the National Post that Kadri could potentially be to the Leafs what Matt Duchene was to the Colorado Avalanche last season.

While that would be ideal, it would not be surprising to see him start the season with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Burke gave the same treatment to Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan in Anaheim and assigned Tyler Bozak for AHL duty last year despite his impressive audition at training camp.

The bottom line is that Kadri will have to earn a spot and prove that he can be a consistent contributor on a club in dire need of a significant resurgence.

If all goes to plan, Kadri will be celebrating his 20th birthday on the eve of the kickoff to the 2011 campaign as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Suiting up against the rival Montreal Canadiens - his favorite team growing up - on opening night would be icing on the cake.

Hitboz Hockey Betting News

<< Blue Jays' Anthopoulos building on youth
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your pockets aren't deep and you live in the American League East, you need to do things a little differently. With a new general manager in town, it seems as though the Toronto Blue Jays have finally com

<< Orioles recall INF Bell
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles recalled infielder Josh Bell from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, a move that coincided with the club placing catcher Matt Wieters on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a right h

<< CFL East: Trying to separate fact from fiction
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Hamilton and Winnipeg preoccupied with each other and Montreal being Montreal, the Toronto Argonauts are finding themselves in a division trying to find itself. A contradicting start to the season has

<< Royals start homestand with Oakland in town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams trying to climb into contention in the American League start up their post-All Star break schedules this evening at Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals open up a six-game homestand with the first o

<< Mets in search of better showing in San Francisco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - How the New York Mets fare on the road over the season's second half could ultimately determine the team's postseason fate. After being shut out in the opener of an important West Coast swing on Thursday, Jerry Manuel'

NBA summer leagues shed more light on the draft >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This year's rookie crop got its first taste of the NBA in the recently completed Orlando Summer League and the one in Las Vegas which concludes on Sunday. Though it's not the competition the player will see in th

Celtic adds Murphy from Sunderland >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have completed the signing of Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy on a three-year contract. The 27-year-old joins fellow Bhoys newcomers Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and Cha Du-Ri in Neil Lenn

Warriors' sale could mean tough sell for NBA in upcoming CBA fight >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is an adage in politics - never let a serious crisis go to waste. In these tough economic times, rank and file workers across America have never been more suspicious of management. Most agree that

Podolski claims he is committed to Cologne >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne's Germany international forward Lukas Podolski has vowed to stay with his current club this summer, despite links with a possible big-money move abroad. The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine Worl

NL East: With playoffs in sight, Braves make a switch at short >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Atlanta Braves got tired of waiting for Yunel Escobar. The Braves dealt the 27-year-old shortstop to the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a five-player trade that sent 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez to the Bra

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.

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.