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06/15/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time in two seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a captain and his name is Dion Phaneuf.
The former Calgary Flames defenseman was bestowed the captaincy of the historic franchise at a media conference yesterday, one that doubled as a debut for new uniforms the players will be sporting when the puck drops next season.
With the honor, Phaneuf became the 18th player in history to wear the "C" for the blue and white, and the first since Mats Sundin gave up his 11-year grasp on the title in 2008.
The 25-year-old Phaneuf spoke with pride while sharing the stage with Leaf royalty, as former captains George Armstrong, Darryl Sittler and Wendel Clark watched on.
"With this new responsibility, my plan is to be myself," said Phaneuf, reading from a prepared statement. "I want to lead on and off the ice. Above all else the team and winning hockey games will be front and center. We have a lot of work to do, but we will work hard together, everyone is ready to work hard and get better as a team. I am confident and welcome my role in seeing that happen."
General Manager Brian Burke, who received much criticism over the past two seasons for not naming a captain, believes it was worth the wait.
"We never felt that we needed a captain, we felt that we needed to wait until we had the right person to come in and fulfill that role," said Burke. "This is one of the greatest franchises in the history of professional sports on this planet and we wanted to make sure today that we put the "C" on someone that would live up to that."
Burke stressed that the decision was always in the hands of head coach Ron Wilson, but said Phaneuf was the player he had in mind for the role when trading for the former Norris Trophy finalist earlier in the year.
"If I had been asked, this is the player that I would have begged Ronnie to name as the next Captain," said Burke.
While Phaneuf was a natural choice for Wilson as well, he pointed to his coaching days in San Jose as a determining factor that helped him come to his final decision.
"I had the pleasure of coaching against Dion when I was with San Jose and we thought right off the bat that he was a remarkable talent and getting better every year," said Wilson. "He's someone who plays with passion, comes to the rink every day and works harder than anybody."
Critics of the move will point to the rumored relationship issues between Phaneuf and some of his old Flames teammates as reasons for worry, but as Burke sees it, it was a case of there being too many alpha dogs in one room.
With veterans like Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regehr leading the team in Calgary, there wasn't room for another strong-willed individual to take charge.
In the Leafs dressing room no such challenge existed and last year Phaneuf took full advantage.
"The atmosphere changed to where Dion started challenging people the day he got here, we need loud music, we need to call for passes in practice. He started changing the culture within seconds after he got into the dressing the room," Burke said.
"The young players that talked to me about it said this is a guy who saw a leadership vacuum and leaped into it and filled it."
With the Leafs being such a young team, Phaneuf's role in setting the tone for youngsters like Tyler Bozak, Nazim Kadri, and Luke Schenn will be an important one.
If one player benefited immediately from the trade last year it was fellow blue liner Schenn, who saw the pressure to perform in his sophomore season lifted when Phaneuf came in.
When asked if there were parts of Phaneuf's game he could learn from, Schenn said there was a lot to look up too.
"He's good in all areas of the ice, you can learn a lot from him," the defenseman said. "His physicality, how he makes the forwards on the other team pay the price when he's on the ice and also his ability to shoot the puck, and also his intensity."
It's that intensity the organization hopes will filter down through a team that has been described in previous years as being entitled, a condition that Burke has publicly described as "blue and white disease."
It's a sickness he's been fighting since he arrived in the city.
If there is one thing that Leaf fans can be sure of, it's that the team will look like winners when they take the ice in the fall.
The boys in blue and white will sport a different look this year with a jersey that's a throwback to 1993. With horizontal stripes at the bottom of the sweater and a shoulder patch depicting an older version of the Leaf logo, it is a sweater that Burke said "Marks a return to our roots."
Hopefully, for the sake of Leafs' Nation, a return to their winning roots is in the cards as well.
<< Athletics continue road trip against Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are still searching for a win on
their current road trip, as they begin a three-game series against the Chicago
Cubs this evening from historic Wrigley Field.
Oakland was swept in three games at San F
<< Tough task: D-Backs try to halt road skid in Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A big reason for Boston's recent success has been its play
at Fenway Park. That's not good news for the Diamondbacks, who will be vying
to halt a 10-game road losing streak tonight in the opener of a three-game
interleague se
<< Rays send Price to the hill against Braves, winless Kawakami
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While Rays young gun David Price targets his 10th win of
the season, Atlanta starter Kenshin Kawakami has yet to taste victory in 2010.
Both pitchers will collide Tuesday night at Turner Field, where the Braves
will host T
<< Celtics try to clinch another title in Los Angeles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have a chance to clinch their record
18th championship tonight when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers for Game 6 of
the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center.
The Celtics pushed the defending champs to the b
Suppan back on mound for Cardinals' clash with Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Suppan makes his return to the St. Louis Cardinals
this evening, when they continue their three-game interleague series against
the Seattle Mariners at Busch Stadium.
Suppan, who was released by Milwaukee last Monday,
Marlins send staff ace Johnson to hill vs. Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A series win over one of the top teams in baseball has the
Marlins on the verge of returning to the .500 mark. With Josh Johnson set to
start tonight, Florida has a good chance of reaching that mark.
Johnson will aim
Young hurlers go head-to-head in Blue Jays-Padres tilt >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to make it two straight wins this
evening, when they play the second test of their three-game interleague set
with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Monday's opener was delayed briefly by a 5.7-
Royals welcome Astros to town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a series victory over the National League
Central's first-place team, the Kansas City Royals will try to take down one
of that division's lesser members when the club returns to Kauffman Stadium
this evening for a
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Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
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