11/29/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs officially introduced Brian Burke as the team's president and general manager at a press conference on Saturday.
"I'm extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Burke as president and general manager of the Leafs," said Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "We all agreed that our hockey team needed an experienced, established decision-maker who will make the Leafs a winner. We know Brian possesses the necessary qualities to meet the challenges ahead for our organization and in this market."
The Toronto Sun reported Burke signed the contract on Thursday at his home in Boston and that the deal is for six years and worth at least $17 million.
"I'm extremely honored to join the Toronto Maple Leafs," said Burke. "This is one of the most prestigious jobs in our game. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to work for a team in a world-class city with passionate fans, solid ownership and a rich history. I can't wait to get started."
Burke replaced Cliff Fletcher, who was hired as interim general manager following the firing of John Ferguson in January.
Burke spent the past three-plus seasons as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks and built a team that captured a Stanley Cup title in 2007. He stepped down on November 12 after declining to sign a contract extension.
He becomes the 13th general manager in the Leafs' 92-year history and the first American to have that honor. He has also worked for the Hartford Whalers and Vancouver Canucks, along with a role as director of hockey operations with the NHL.
Burke will take over a team that has not won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and hasn't reached the playoffs in three seasons since the end of the lockout. It marks the longest playoff drought in club history.
<< Avs place Foote on IR
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche placed defenseman Adam
Foote on injured reserve, retroactive to November 22, on Saturday.
Foote is suffering from upper back and knee injuries and has just one assist
in 19 games this
<< Bears place Vasher on IR
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears have placed cornerback
Nathan Vasher on injured reserve because of a broken hand.
Vasher originally injured his wrist in a Week 4 game against Philadelphia and
missed three games becau
<< Bolton blasts Sunderland to claim top half spot
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton moved into the top half of the
Premiership standings on Saturday after recording a 4-1 win over Sunderland at
the Stadium of Light.
Djibril Cisse put the Black Cats in front just 11 minutes i
<< Bayern doubles up on Leverkusen to take over second
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich moved into second place
on Saturday after recording a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at Bay Arena.
Luca Toni scored the first goal for Bayern in the 59th minute, while Miroslav
Klose ad
Thabeet, UConn crush Bryant >>
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hasheem Thabeet had 16 points and 12 rebounds
as the second-ranked Connecticut Huskies downed the Bryant Bulldogs, 88-58, at
the XL Center.
Craig Austrie had 15 points and six boards while Jeff Adrien chi
Giants place Knight on injured reserve >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants placed veteran
safety Sammy Knight on injured reserve Saturday due to a nagging hip injury.
Knight sat out New York's 37-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday and
also m
Meier's late touchdown pushes Kansas over No. 12 Missouri >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Reesing threw a 26-yard touchdown pass
to Kerry Meier on fourth down with 27 seconds remaining, as Kansas pulled out
a 40-37 victory over 12th-ranked Missouri in the regular-season finale for
both te
Guenther still in front in Chile >>
Santiago, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christoph Guenther of Germany posted a one-
under 70 on Saturday, but it was enough to stay atop the leaderboard after the
third round of the Sport Frances Open.
Guenther finished 54 holes at eight-under 20
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting