Canucks' home arena renamed

Hockey Betting Lines

07/06/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The home of the Vancouver Canucks received a name change on Tuesday, as General Motors Place was rebranded as Rogers Arena.

The club entered into a 10-year agreement with Rogers Communications, Inc., which now owns naming, telecommunications and sponsorship rights for the franchise.

"This is an important strategic alliance and we're thrilled to partner with an outstanding organization like the Canucks," said Rogers CEO and president Nadir Mohamed. "B.C. is a critical market for Rogers and this announcement further enhances our investment in the province and builds on our powerful sports legacy."

Rogers also operates a regional television network throughout Canada, which often features Canucks games.

The Canucks had called GM Place home since the start of the 1995-96 season, and it only endured one small name alteration in that time. During the recently-completed 2010 Winter Olympics, it was called Canada Hockey Place as the IOC forbids advertising in the names of venues.

Prior to that, the Canucks called the nearby Pacific Coliseum home from their inception in 1970 through the lockout-shortened 1995 campaign.

Wwwwon Hockey Betting News

<< Dutch hold off Uruguay to reach World Cup final
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben scored in a three-minute span of the second half and the Netherlands survived a frantic finish to edge Uruguay, 3-2, on Tuesday to advance to the FIFA World Cup fin

<< Rangers recall Mathis, option Beltre
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers recalled pitcher Doug Mathis and optioned pitcher Omar Beltre to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Mathis went 1-1 with a 7.36 earned-run average in nine appearances early in the s

<< Blues extend F Janssen
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have re-signed forward Cam Janssen to a one-year contract extension. The 26-year-old Janssen was scoreless in 43 games last season while recording a career-high 190 penalty minutes.

<< Querrey, Fish, Mahut move on in Newport
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded American Sam Querrey, fifth-seeded American Mardy Fish and Wimbledon marathon man Nicolas Mahut were a trio of opening-round winners Tuesday at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The 2009 Newpo

<< No charges filed in shooting at Vick party
Virginia Beach, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No charges will be filed in the shooting incident that occurred outside a local restaurant celebrating Michael Vick's birthday, according to a statement from the Virginia Beach police on Tuesday. Vick

USC releases OL Henderson from letter of intent >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Southern California has released incoming offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson from his national letter of intent. Henderson, listed at 6-foot-8, 301 pounds, was rated by Rivals.

Harang lands on DL; Reds call up Maloney to start >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and Matt Maloney was called up from Triple-A Louisville to make Tuesday's start against the Mets. Harang last pitched

Barca sends Chygrynskiy back to Shakhtar >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona misfit Dmytro Chygrynskiy has returned to former club Shakhtar Donetsk after just one year at the Camp Nou. The 23-year-old defender left the Ukrainian side for Barca in August 2009 but has

Parma gets Bojinov from Manchester City >>
Parma, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City has confirmed that Bulgaria international Valeri Bojinov has joined Parma for an undisclosed transfer fee. The Serie A side claimed earlier in the week that they had agreed a deal for the

Barca coach Guardiola set to sign extension >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona President Sandro Rosell has confirmed that he has agreed a new two-year verbal contract with coach Pep Guardiola. Guardiola, who has guided the Catalan club to back-to-back La Liga titl

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

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.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

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.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.