Modano skates for 1st time with Red Wings

Hockey Betting Lines

09/09/2010 -

DETROIT (AP) - Mike Modano grew up dreaming of skating at Joe Louis Arena as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. He actually did it Thursday morning.

The 40-year-old center, who signed a one-year, free agent deal with the Red Wings worth $1.25 million and the possibility of $500,000 more through performance-based bonuses, joined most of his new teammates during an informal skate.

``It feels good. Feels great to be at the Joe skating again,'' said Modano, a native of the Detroit suburb of Livonia who has spent his entire 20-year NHL career with the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars organization.

He talked about getting accustomed to new routines each day and how he had tearful goodbyes with several of the close friends he made in Dallas.

``Little by little, I'm getting accustomed to things,'' Modano said.

He also talked about a bit of personal history he has with one of his new teammates, veteran defenseman Ruslan Salei, who the Red Wings signed as a free agent a few days after they signed Modano.

On Oct. 2, 1999, Salei - then playing with Anaheim - checked Modano from behind and into the boards causing a concussion and neck sprain. Modano and Salei haven't talked since they became teammates.

``He's always been a hard guy to play against ... Always in your face,'' Modano said. He added that Salei inquired about how Modano was doing through other people.

``Just wanted to make sure I was OK,'' Modano said.

One of Modano's projected linemates, Dan Cleary, was also on the ice Thursday.

``Obviously he's a real good skater,'' Cleary said. ``He's excited ... He's back in his hometown.''

Modano, the highest scoring American-born player in NHL history with 557 goals and 1,359 points, left the arena as a passenger in Todd Bertuzzi's SUV. Bertuzzi was one of the Red Wings' players who Modano knew well and talked to before signing with Detroit.

The eight-time All-Star led Dallas to the Stanley Cup title in 1999. Modano played in the Olympics three times and helped the Americans win silver in 2002.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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