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04/11/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Executive Committee announced Friday that University of Michigan forward Kevin Porter was named the 28th 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.
Porter, a senior, is only the second player in the Wolverines' history to win the award, joining Brendan Morrison, who received the honor in 1997.
The Northville, Michigan native registered 33 goals and 63 points in 43 games in 2007-08.
A 2004 draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, Porter guided the Wolverines to a 33-6-4 record and a berth in the Frozen Four, where they lost to Notre Dame, 5-4, in overtime in Thursday's national semifinal.
Boston College junior forward Nathan Gerbe and Miami-Ohio senior forward Ryan Jones were the other two finalists.
North Dakota's Ryan Duncan took home the award last season.
<< Masters Second Round News & Notes
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Contrary to what you might know about Brandt
Snedeker (or what you might not know), this is not his first appearance at the
Masters.
Snedeker captured the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links title, which earned
<< Reyes leaves Mets-Brewers game
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes left his
team's game Friday against Milwaukee with left hamstring tightness.
Reyes was hitless in three at-bats through five innings, and was replaced by
Marlon Anderson
<< Ochoa leads Corona Championship by a shot
Morelia, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorena Ochoa moved closer to yet another
victory on Friday, shooting her second consecutive seven-under 66 to take sole
possession of the lead after two rounds of the Corona Championship.
Playing in her
<< Incredible rally by Blake gives U.S. 2-0 lead versus France
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Blake saved two match points in the
fifth set and rallied to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu, giving the United States a
commanding 2-0 lead over France in their best-of-five Davis Cup World Group
quarter
Raptors rout Nets to tie for sixth in East >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delfino scored 24 points, including a
6-of-8 performance from three-point range, as the Toronto Raptors crushed the
Nets, 113-85, ending New Jersey's playoff hopes.
Chris Bosh added 21 points and nin
T-Wolves rally to deny Magic win No. 50 >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Gomes hit the game-winning free throws
with 2.9 seconds left and Hedo Turkoglu fired an airball at the buzzer as the
Minnesota Timberwolves escaped with a 102-101 victory over Orlando at Amway
Arena.
What they're saying at the Masters, Day Two >>
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The weather, and Augusta National, were set to
undergo changes as the weekend approached at the Masters, meaning things
could only get tougher for the players.
Here's what some of them were talking about
Pacers stifle Sixers to remain in East playoff picture >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger scored 30 points and grabbed
12 rebounds, helping the Indiana Pacers remain in playoff contention with an
85-76 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Mike Dunleavy ad
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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