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Kovalchuk pact approved; NHL-NHLPA adopt rules for long-term dealsHockey Betting Lines09/04/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will finally join the New Jersey Devils after his re-submitted contract was officially and finally approved by the National Hockey League just before 3 a.m. (et) Saturday morning. The re-worked contract now calls for Kovalchuk to collect a reported $100 million over 15 years, with an annual cap hit of close to $6.66 million. The deal is thought to pay out $90 million in the first 10 years and $10 million over the last five. Kovalchuk's initial 17-year, $102 million deal with the Devils was rejected by the league on the grounds that it circumvented the league's salary cap. The deal was front-loaded so Kovalchuk could have earned as much money as possible while providing the lowest possible cap hit for the team. The NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on Kovalchuk's behalf, but an arbitrator ruled in favor of the league. The Russian star, now 27, would be approaching age 43 when the contract expires. The rejection of the contract provided much debate throughout the league in terms of "lifetime" contracts given to players that have helped reduce the yearly salary cap hit. Several players in previous years signed deals that took them past 40 years of age and saw the annual salary dip below $1 million in the final years of the contract. The NHL and NHLPA together, did away with those scenarios in one fell swoop Friday, jointly adopting new regulations on such pacts while simultaneoulsy ruling on Kovalchuk's situation after a whirlwind of postponements on a ruling that stretched well into the night. The new rules will apply only to long-term contracts, five years or longer in length, and only those going forward beyond the September 4 ruling date. All previous contracts are grandfathered in, meaning Kovalchuk's contract will likely be the last of its kind. To that end, the two entities also announced that the league will terminate its circumvention investigations into the contracts signed in 2009 by Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers. "We are pleased to finalize an agreement which ends the league's circumvention investigations and also establishes rules on long-term contracts that will provide players, their certified agents and general managers clarity for the negotiation of new contracts," said Roland Lee, associate counsel for the NHLPA and director of Salary Cap/Marketplace. "Turning the page on this process is something that will benefit all parties involved." Taking into account the NHL's salary cap system and forthcoming CBA negotiations, a special calculation of value will be made in two ways for contracts that extend beyond a player's 41st birthday, and any long-term contract that averages more than $5.75 million for the three highest- compensation years will have rules put into place that limit that player's compensation to a minimum of $1 million between the ages of 36 and 40. Because of the league's previous rules on player contracts after the age of 35, it was conceivable that someone could retire before a contract had expired, wiping the contract off the salary cap. This rule allowed teams to sign players to front-loaded contracts to benefit both the team and player. "We're pleased to be able to establish clearly-defined rules for these types of contracts going forward and just as happy we can turn the page on uncertainties relating to several other existing contracts," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "From start to finish of this multi-week process we were able to work closely and cooperatively with representatives of the Players' Association, who shared our belief that the creation of definitive rules and guidelines in this area would be beneficial to everyone -- clubs and players alike." Kovalchuk's deal will reportedly take the team about $3 million over the salary cap with 21 players under contract, and the Devils will have to get under the $59.4 million cap before the beginning of the season while adding two more players to the roster. Kovalchuk posted 41 goals and 85 points in 76 games last season, 10 goals and 27 points coming in 27 games with New Jersey. In a five-game first-round playoff loss, the 27-year-old added two goals and six points. In 621 games since entering the league in 2001, he has accumulated 338 goals and 642 points with Atlanta and New Jersey.
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Football BettingNFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago. Thursday, August 21 NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37 NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007 In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points. Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season): * SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp. Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled. Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too. That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm. Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds. CHICAGO -3 (-120) ** The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond! Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds . |
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