NHL 2005: Who To Bet On

In the last 12 months the National Hockey League has undergone as massive of an overhaul as any sports league in the last half century. With revamped rules, a restructured salary system and a new television partner, professional hockey is the shell of the sport that locked its doors a year ago. The changes reflect the NHL's new mantra - more scoring, increased parity and cost certainty. So forget everything you know or think you know about the NHL, which begins preseason play on Sept. 16, as even the most faithful and ardent fan has to admit that they have no clue as to how the game will look in 2005-06.

First, hockey viewers will have to get used to watching their game on a new station. ESPN took a gamble and refused to pick up the network's option on the NHL's broadcasting rights. The idea was that ESPN would be able to opt out of their deal, and then repurchase the rights at a substantially reduced rate. Instead, the Outdoor Living Network, a subsidiary of Comcast Cable, swooped in with a very lucrative offer and purchased the rights to broadcast the NHL regular season and playoffs for $65 million this season, $70 million in 2006-2007, and $72.5 million in 2007-2008. Not to worry though - Barry Melrose and his man mullet have signed on with OLN.

However, OLN only reaches an estimated 65 million homes throughout the United States and Canada. That's a substantial reduction from the 90 million subscribers that ESPN boasts, and the 89 million viewers that ESPN2 can reach. Also, since ESPN doesn't own the rights, the league shouldn't expect too much coverage from those Bristol bastards. The new deal - while a relative windfall for a sport with flailing TV ratings - definitely relegates the NHL to Niche Sport status. Well, that and a 309-day lockout will turn off any fan base. Right now hockey's popularity lies somewhere around the WNBA and extreme dodgeball.

Next, besides the ideological alterations that the league has experienced, there have been considerable changes to the practical aspects of the game. A competition committee revisited several issues that were pinpointed as problem areas during the pre-lockout days. The highlights of their adopted rule changes are:

1)No more ties. Instead of records that read like Lotto picks, the league has gone back to good ol' fashioned wins and losses. At the end of overtime a six-player shootout will ensue, followed by a sudden death shootout if necessary.
2)Goalies will no longer be allowed to be built like Optimus Prime. Their allotted padding has been reduced 11 percent. The rule is backed by $25,000 fines and suspensions.
3)Goaltenders can no longer "freeze" the puck, and a trapezoidal area has been set up behind the goal line. The goalies are only allowed to handle the puck within that area when behind the goal line.
4)The offensive zone will be larger. The bluelines were each moved two feet closer to one another, shrinking the neutral zone. Also, the goal-lines have been moved two feet further from the boards, leaving more room behind the net.
5)The red line is gone, and two-line passes are now legal.
6)Other minor changes have occurred. There's no flopping, a point of emphasis on clutching and grabbing, anyone who instigates a fight in the last five minutes gets suspended, no flipping the puck into the stands in your defensive zone, and no public complaints about the league.

The idea is that all of these rule modifications will open up scoring and increase the speed of the game. They're hoping that the new NHL will be similar to the hockey played in the Olympics, which features more scoring and skill rather than neutral zone traps and the grind-it-out garbage that had permeated the NHL over the last decade.

Finally, a whirlwind of player movement has completely reconfigured the balance of talent throughout the league. Trying to figure out who is going where has proven more tiresome than trying to keep up with which pitcher Alyssa Milano is banging now. In fact, when opening night comes (the Rangers open against the Flyers on Oct. 5) most fans will feel like Guy Pierce's short-term-memory depraved character in Memento. They'll vaguely recognize where they are but have no idea how they got there.

I saw a post on another sports site that I felt best sums up the player movement that's taken place since the league went back in business: "Don't you feel like the new NHL is the equivalent of someone stealing your NHL '95 game for Sega, randomizing the rosters, and then giving it back to you?"

Laying a bet on NHL futures trying to predict who will hoist the Cup next summer could be a great opportunity to fleece some unsuspecting oddsmakers. But, as always, wager at your own risk. Here's a quick overview on some teams that will be worth watching and could be worth the gamble:

Detroit Red Wings (17/2) - The favorites for the upcoming season reside in Hockeytown. It's a terrible bet, and don't bite. Yes the Red Wings were the best team in the 2003-04 regular season with 109 overall points, but perhaps no team was hurt more by the year off. Steve Yzerman is now 40, Chris Chelios is 43 and Brendan Shanahan is turning 37. The window may have closed for the Wings and their AARP roster. Also, Detroit has only about $7 million to resign Pavel Datsyuk (who's said he's not even close to a deal) and/or Henrik Zetterberg. This team has holes, and now they can't plug it with money.

Philadelphia Flyers (9/1) - The Flyers waived goodbye to its nucleus of Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair and Mark Recchi. Their absence will open up the ice for young speedsters Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. Also, they managed to pilfer Peter Forsberg and Derian Hatcher, adding two of the top free agent talents to an already strong team. The Flyers should have a slight edge over New Jersey in their quest to defend their Atlantic Division championship.

Ottawa Senators (11/1) - The Sens were the top scoring team in the Eastern Conference in 2003-04 (262 goals), and they added the dynamic Dany Heatley in a blockbuster deal that included Marian Hossa. As long as no one asks Heatley to be the designated driver, he should add some more pop to Ottawa's offense. Daniel Alfredsson led the team with 48 assists in 03-04, and will be setting the table for Heatley. This squad is deep and strong, and will be relying on Ray Emery and Dominick Hasek in the net.

Calgary Flames (13/1) - The runners-up to the 2004 champion Tampa Bay Lightning (man, that still sounds strange) will be even better this season. The key move they made was retaining superstar Jerome Iginla. Iginla was tied for the NHL lead with 41 goals in 03-04. The Flames upgraded the offense by bringing in Tony Amonte and Darren McCarty. Also, Roman Hamrlik was acquired to shore up an already stout defense.

New Jersey Devils (14/1) - This is a very interesting team going into the preseason. As Detroit and Colorado will be most affected by the salary cap, New Jersey will be most affected by the rule changes. Many blame the Devils for pioneering the neutral zone trap and the clutch-and-grab style that took over the league in the last decade. Offensively, they still have Scott Gomez (team leader in assists) and Patrick Elias (leader in goals and points) and I expect big numbers from both. They've won at least 41 games in each of the past three seasons, and with Martin Brodeur in goal they always have a shot.

Colorado Avalance (14/1) - The Avs still have Joe Sakic and Pierre Turgeon in the center, Brad May and Alex Tanguay on the left and Milan Hejduk on the right. So in other words, they still have a chance. Colorado has put up an average of 42 wins per year the last three seasons, and its core remains intact. Rob Blake is back to anchor the defense and David Aebischer is the man in the cage. I expect them to figure prominently in the Western Conference, but I don't think they have enough depth to hoist the Cup.

Boston Bruins (15/1) - The Bruins were one of the teams that benefited the most from the outlandish free agency. They were able to lock up captain Joe Thornton for three years, and keep Glen Murray on the club. Also, they were able to add seasoned vets Shawn McEachern and Brian Leetch, as well as Alexi Zhamnov and Dave Scatchard. That talent infusion improves a team that was already pretty tough (defending Northeast Division champions). The pressure will be on Andrew Raycroft, the only goalie on the roster.

Pittsburgh Penguins (15/1) - The March of the Penguins back to hockey's elite may start this season. Besides being a fiscal farce off the ice, they've been one of the worst teams on it for the past several years, managing just 78 wins in the last three seasons. They put up only 2.3 goals a game while winning 23 games in 03-04. But the Steel City won the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes, and the "next Gretzky" gives them instant credibility. They resigned leading scorer Dick Tarnstrom and acquired Lyle Odelein, and that young talent may be ready to take the next step.

Tampa Bay Lightning (15/1) - Winning the Stanley Cup a few weeks before the lockout must've been kind of like winning the lottery and then finding out we're going back to the barter system. Tampa Bay caught lightning in a bottle in the summer of 2004, and the defending Stanley Cup champions have brought back the principals involved in that run. Dave Andreychuk, Martin St. Louis, and Vincent Lecavalier are all back and ready to go. They roster reeks of old age, but they're still the champs and should be shown the proper respect.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks (30/1) - Team Teemu returns as the head of the Flying V. Sergie Federov is looking to salvage a burnt out career, and Scott Niedermeyer should flourish in Anaheim's wide-open attack. Also, the Ducks have a huge advantage with J-S Giguere minding the net. That's one guy who won't need the extra padding to dominate. A drawback is that they traded captain Steve Rucchin to the Rangers.

Atlanta Thrashers (33/1) - I like this pick for the value. The Hossa-Heatley trade was pretty much a push, but getting a solid veteran defenseman like Greg deVries in the deal may shift the advantage in the Thrashers favor. They already posses a young core led by the very talented Ilya Kovalchuk (team leader in goals and assists) and Hossa's playmaking style (36 goals and 82 points) will fit right in. They signed Mike Dunham to mentor talented youngster Kari Lehtonen, and brought in Bobby Holik to add even more firepower. They might be a year away, but it may be worth it to take a $10 or $20 flier on them.

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Government Auto Auctions

Government auto auctions:

Ever pull up to a late model Mercedes, or fully loaded BMW and catch yourself daydreaming about how that person had enough good fortune to be able to own such a remarkable luxury car? He might have purchased his ride from a government auto auction for a fraction of its retail value. As a matter of fact, he might be that one neighbor with all the toys in the garage you cant quite figure out how he can afford. Dont keep up with the Joneses BE the Joneses. Find and attend government auto auctions near you!

Government seized auto auctions:

Government seized auto auctions are constantly supplied by criminals when they are caught. The government seizes cars and anything else the criminal owns, and there arent too many drug dealers driving Ford Escorts! The government routinely seizes high-end luxury cars or highly customized vehicles during criminal investigations. These autos seized by the government include Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes, Nissan, and the occasional exotic import Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. If you are interested in a high end vehicle, but dont care for the retail price tag, then government seized auto auctions are for you. To find a government seized auto auction near you, check within DEAauctions.COM "Members area" today!

Government fleet vehicles:

Government fleet vehicles are the retired police cars and government service vehicles that are replaced at regular intervals. Government auto auctions include many government fleet vehicles. These tend to be domestic cars with high mileage, but regularly maintained. Unlike the government seized autos, you are more likely to receive vehicle history with a government fleet vehicles purchase. If vehicle history is important to you, ask before the auto auction begins for the information. Click here for more auction hints.

Government surplus autos:

Government surplus autos can be a combination of government fleet vehicles and government seized vehicles. These cars do not necessarily have higher mileage, they are simply no longer needed by the government. These can be passenger vehicles, decoy vehicles used by law enforcement, heavy equipment or even motorcycles and ATVs or snowmobiles. When a vehicle is no longer needed, it becomes a government surplus vehicle, available at a government surplus autos auction. For a listing of surplus autos auctions check out your local government auto auctions events.

A Final Word About government auto auctions

There are literally thousands of bargains available at government auto auctions. These bargains could be in your own backyard, and you may not even know it. Whether you need a car for yourself and dont want to spend a lot, or you have a teenager with a new license, government auto auctions offer some of the best values in the car auction market. All makes and models are available that second car can become a reality without sacrificing safety or style to keep your wallet intact. With the high cost of storing cars, governments want to liquidate their surplus auto inventory as quickly as possible to save money. If you want to rack up the savings on your next government auto auctions purchase, click here.

Direct Access to the Most Complete InformationSome of the more common auction items include:

used autos marine vehicles jet skis aircrafts homes real estate commercial property farm equipment industrial business electronics computers antiques art coins stamps appliances guns travel collectibles clothing crafts boats bikes motorcycles mobile homes jewelry toys cars trucks mopeds bicycles cameras televisions clocks furniture unclaimed property abandoned property personal property office furniture condominiums town homes commercial property vacant land single family homes machinery tools hardware building supplies

and much, much more...

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GPS Golf Balls Are Almost Here

As GPS technology gets better and better and smaller and smaller it will be able to be used for many things? For instance at the World Series a baseball hit into the third level will be able to be recorded by GPS as to exactly how far it was hit and its trajectory to formulate where it would have actually landed had the stadium been flat. Thus we will be able to tell who was the greatest homerun power house of all times, perhaps even who is on steroids based on their body mass, speed of pitch, GPS data and haptics (body movement and form). Wouldnt it be cool to be watching the World Series on TV and instant information about a homerun appearing on the bottom of the screen? Sounds like a whole new potential betting arena, not only how many homeruns a person will hit, but exactly how far they will hit them?

A football kick would be immediately known the exact yardage, every play near the sidelines would be instantly called in or out of bounds and there would never be any question as to if a football actually broke the goal line. I can hear the referee unions screaming foul already as they will no longer be needed or have jobs? Ouch? Soccer balls, off sides, out of bounds? Yes all possible via GPS data.

With sensors getting smaller and GPS units being used in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles of smaller and smaller size for Micro Air Vehicles and RFID imbedded chips, this technology believe it or not is ready for golf balls as well? All you need is a little imagination. So there you are Tiger Woods with a PDA device in your hands which measures the exactly where the ball is, how far to the next hole, picking up the data from inside the golf ball itself and the flag in the hole. Way-points are displayed also as to where the sand traps are, lakes, edge of fairway and the rough surrounding the green.

The World Think Tank recent discussion and brain storming session digressed from GPS navigational devices to sports and we came up with the idea to put GPS Sensors in golf balls, so you could find your golf ball if you have a nasty slice or heavy winds taking it off course. Part of our discussion also came from another recent think tank discussion on putting GPS sensors on Locusts Swarms in order to track them.

The idea of putting GPS sensors on Locusts is a noble idea, yet who will pay for this technology, as the locust is small and cannot carry much weight and still keep up with the rest of the swarm, which of course would throw off the reading? Our thoughts were to let the golfing community pay for it. After all if the locusts see such a green area of grass they would eat it all up.

As a kid I use to run on the golf course and saw balls way off the ranges and fairways. Some of these golf balls were custom, with people's names on them? Ouch adding insult to injury, I could immediately tell who the bad golfer was? With the new GPS WTT Golf Balls you could never lose your golf balls, because you would know their exact location via a set of satellites and that data would be displayed on your wireless PDA device. This PDA wireless Tracking device would be with you and you could carry it in a zipper pouch on the golf bag or on the steering wheel of your golf cart. Now then on the poles and flags of each hole would be another sensor so when you set the ball on the "T" for the next shot you would see the exact distance.

We went one step further and figured out how to integrate a mini-weather station system on you golf cart. It will be a slight modification of the Climatronics Corporations TACMET System. For those who liked to get a work out, it could be integrated into the golf bag with a small external periscope;

http://www.climatronics.com See the TACNET System.

By integrating the GPS System with known GIS Golf Course Topography and exact weather readings from the TACMET System into the wireless PDA, the golfer would have all the data needed to make a perfect shot provided they had the skill and pre-cognitive ability to make it so. Our system will also be able to suggest the best club to use based on the ability of the golfer from previous courses, wind, distance and punching in of the golfers present fatigue factor based on a 1-10 scale.

A Sarasota Company, Great White Shark Entertainment is already busy installing WiFi and GPS systems such as golf shot distance measurement and course information which includes a Golf Cart mounted system and handheld PDA wireless mobile display. These systems will become great revenue enhancers for Golf Clubs and for the serious golfer who likes all the bells and whistles and has the money to afford them. There system is quite perfect to add to our idea or vice versa, check it out: The Inforemer, this information available at their website. GPS Industries is making it all happen.

http://www.gpsindustries.com

The Our WTT GPS Golf Balls will be more expensive than normal balls but well worth it as the system teaches the player to shoot a better game. The golf ball could be the same weight? As any normal PGA Golf Ball.

A future thought along this theme would be to eventually have, thru special internal parts and shape shifting techniques, the ball if it got close would simply roll over to the hole and fall in. This would mean no one would ever have to give them a free put or allow someone to feel bad who fudged the score. This future idea would be great for the player who understands he is not anywhere near a scratch golfer but occasionally might like to play with a few. Or for the player who goes to the course simply to look cool, but has not brains or talent?

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