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Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames made a surprise acquisition on Thursday, obtaining the services of forward Mike Cammalleri from the Montreal Canadiens. "Mike Cammalleri is a dynamic player who enjoyed great success playing in Calgary," stated Flames general manager Jay Feaster. "We believe Cammalleri will help our offensive production, solidify a second scoring line, bolster our power play, and bring another strong veteran voice to our room. We are confident that a return to Calgary will be good for Mike and good for our continued pursuit of a playoff berth."

 

The Habs received Alberta native and forward Rene Bourque, forward prospect Patrick Holland and a second-round draft pick in 2013.

 

According to several sources, Cammalleri was taken off the bench during the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Bruins in Boston and told to remain at the team hotel to await further instructions. Less than an hour later, the deal was announced.

 

"There are a lot of young players who have joined our team in the last year who are relatively small. We felt that if we wanted to improve the club, we needed to be bigger up front," said Habs general manager Pierre Gauthier. "We felt since the season started that was one of the things needed to improve."

 

Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Loui Eriksson scored in the third round of the shootout to lift the Dallas Stars over the Los Angeles Kings, 5-4, at Staples Center. The Kings' Trevor Lewis then had a chance to keep the shootout going, but his backhander hit the outside of the net to give Los Angeles its fourth loss in seven games.

 

Eriksson had two goals in regulation, while Alex Goligoski added a goal and an assist. Eric Nystrom also scored for the Stars.

 

Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson each had a goal and two assists for the Kings. Lewis and Dustin Brown also lit the lamp, while Jonathan Quick made 34 saves in the loss.

 

Eriksson struck first with a wrister from the slot that beat Quick to the glove side at the 14:04 mark of the opening frame, and Nystrom tallied 51 seconds later when he cleaned up his own rebound out in front of the net.

 

Lewis converted on a breakaway by deking left before moving to the right and slipping the puck past the glove of Lehtonen near the midpoint of the second to make it a 3-2 game after two periods.

 

The first came on a two-man advantage when Johnson ripped a one-timer from the right circle and the second put the Kings up 4-3 with 11:05 left in regulation when Brown tipped in a Kopitar pass from the left circle.

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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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