Flyers GM Clarke resigns; coach Hitchcock fired

Hockey Betting Lines

10/22/2006 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their worst start in 17 years, the Philadelphia Flyers announced on Sunday that general manager Bob Clarke has resigned and head coach Ken Hitchcock has been fired.

Team chairman Ed Snider also announced at a press conference that assistant coach John Stevens will take over Hitchcock's position of head coach.

The Flyers are 1-6-1 on the season and off to their worst start since the 1989-90 campaign, when Clarke was fired to end his first stint as general manager with the franchise.

Clarke, a Hall of Fame center for the Flyers, will be replaced by interim GM Paul Holmgren, who was serving as an assistant to Clarke. Holmgren has been an assistant GM with the Flyers for the past eight seasons.

Clarke, who was in his 19th season as general manager that spanned two tenures, and 35th season as a member of the organization, led the Flyers to Stanley Cup championships in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons as a player.

"I recognized myself that I hadn't been very good (as a general manager)," said Clarke. "The decisions that had to be made, I was letting other people make them. I deeply regret not being able to bring a Stanley Cup here. I didn't deliver. The team has to come first and I was letting the team down."

Hitchcock was just eight games into his fourth season as Philadelphia's head coach. On September 19, the Flyers and Hitchcock agreed to a new three-year contract.

In 2002-03, Hitchcock became head coach of the Flyers and in 2003-04 led the team to the Eastern Conference finals, where Philadelphia lost to Tampa Bay in seven games.

He compiled a record of 131-83-40 during his three-plus seasons as head coach of the Flyers. His 131 wins with the club ranks fourth among head coaches in team history.

"It is difficult to let a coach of his caliber go," said Snider. "I can assure you, it was not done frivolously on our part."

Stevens was in his first season with the Flyers as an assistant coach. He was named to Hitchcock's coaching staff on June 5.

Stevens coached the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms for six seasons before joining the Flyers. He guided the Phantoms to the Calder Cup Championship in 2005.

Stevens compiled 230 wins in 480 games with the Phantoms. His 230 wins are the most in Phantoms history.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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