Blackhawks to let Niemi walk, sign Turco

Hockey Betting Lines

08/02/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have made a decision to let Stanley Cup winning goaltender Antti Niemi become a free agent.

Chicago will walk away from an arbitrator's decision to award Niemi a reported $2.75 million contract for the 2010-11 season and have instead agreed to a one-year deal with veteran goaltender Marty Turco.

"Marty is the perfect veteran addition to our tremendous core that is already in place as we look to begin our defense of the Stanley Cup," said Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman in a release. "He is joining us with the intention of adding a Stanley Cup to his lengthy list of accomplishments over the last decade and we are looking forward to his immediate contributions."

According to the Chicago Tribune, which had reported Niemi's arbitration award on Saturday, the deal for Turco ranges from $1 million to $1.5 million.

Since winning their first Stanley Cup title since 1961 this past spring, the Blackhawks have been trying to get under the salary cap for the 2010-11 season.

Before the latest move, Chicago had eight players from last season's roster leave through trade or free agency.

Niemi, who will now become an unrestricted free agent, split time last season with Cristobal Huet and was 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average, seven shutouts and a .912 save percentage. He then went 16-6 with a 2.63 GAA and two shutouts in the playoffs.

Turco, who turns 35 August on 13, spent the past nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and last year was 22-20-11 with four shutouts and a 2.72 goals-against average in 53 games.

"Joining the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks is an unbelievable opportunity for me both professionally and personally," said Turco. "The Blackhawks are a first-class organization in a world-class city and at this point in my career I am excited to be a part of a team that will give me such a good chance to win the Stanley Cup."

In 509 NHL games, all with Dallas, Turco owns a record of 262-154-63 with 40 shutouts and a 2.31 GAA. He is the Stars' franchise leader in wins, shutouts and games.

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Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

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Andruw Jones 25-1

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Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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