Saturday’s Water Cooler – February 6, 2010
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
Enjoy!
OK, NBA. Seriously. How many more times this week will you let the NHL steal your thunder? Another monster hockey trade went down yesterday while we still await something big in the NBA.
NHL news: Devils win the Ilya Kovalchuk Sweepstakes
Brash, speedy sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is the most prolific goal scorer of the last eight years. Since he joined the NHL in 2001, he’s scored more (328 goals) than any other man in the sport. The 26-year-old hits unrestricted free agency this summer and the Atlanta Thrashers knew they couldn’t keep him, so they shipped him to New Jersey for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick.
Thrashers general manager Don Waddell took heat for not getting enough but I for one think that’s a respectable packaging considering everyone knows Kovalchuk will test the free agent waters come July 1. As for the betting ramifications, the Devils Stanley Cup futures suddenly look very attractive.
Side note: how is Johnny Oduya Swedish? He is. No joke.
NFL news: NFLPA leader almost certain of 2011 lockout
If we thought the MLB strike or NBA and NHL lockouts were bad…how will we handle life without the NFL? It’s a scary thought but NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith rated his certainty of a lockout on a scale of one to 10:
“It’s a 14.”
Gulp. In a nutshell, the players ‘ sentiment is that, considering the NFL is one of the world’s best-run businesses, there’s no way teams and owners could truly be losing money. They want major pay increases as a result. At the very least, we could see a salary-cap free 2010 season. No telling what that would do to the league’s power structure and betting landscape.
MLB news: San Francisco Giants struggling to negotiate with Lincecum
Sigh. Do the Giants literally not know who Tim Lincecum is? They’re offering the young hurler $8 million to play for them next season. Starting pitchers who made over $10 million per year over the last two seasons include Jeff Suppan and Carlos Silva. Yet the Giants aren’t bending on Lincecum’s request for $13 million a year.
We, the general public, usually don’t side with the athletes on contract disputes, but this one is ridiculous. Lincecum won the friggin’ Cy Young Award in each of his first two full Major-League seasons. He couldn’t possibly pitch better. Open your wallet, San Fran.
The minor signings continue. The Toronto Blue Jays added moderately effective reliever and sometimes closer Kevin Gregg on a one-year deal. Gregg saved 84 games over the last three years with the Cubs and Marlins. The Minnesota Twins also made an underrated move, nabbing Orlando Hudson one a one-year deal worth $5 million. He’s a career .282 hitter, a two-time All-Star and a phenomenal defender. $5 million sounds like a bargain to me.
MMA news: UFC Hall-of-Famers clash in matchup 12 years in the making
How old are light heavyweights Randy Couture and Mark Coleman? They were supposed to fight at UFC 17 and now finally get to battle at UFC 109. Coleman is 45, Couture 46. They meet in tomorrow night’s main event with the victor inching closer to a title shot against the winner of Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua.
For bettors – Couture is a heavy sportsbook favorite, listed around -300 at most books.
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