Hate To Say I Told You So

(Courtesy Getty Images/Carl De Souza)

From me, this morning:

“UPSET SPECIAL: Mikhail Youzhny (+130) over Radek Stepanek

This one has a chance to be a classic. Two players who excel at different things but have the experience battling toe-to-toe with the world’s best – you might remember Youzhny took the first two sets from Rafa Nadal last year at Wimbledon…before slowing down with a back problem and falling in five. Both guys went the distance in round two and will likely battle each other to the same conclusion here, leaving them useless for a possible fourth-round match with Nadal. On a side note, part of the reason I was so ready to pick Gasquet to come out of Rafa’s bracket is because I figured one of these guys would have the gas to wear Nadal down before Gasquet got to him. Doesn’t look like the case; either way, this one should be great and I think Youzhny wins enough long rallies with his backhand to stop Stepanek in give. Expect at least two sets to go to tiebreak.”

T-4: Meet the Old Guys

(Courtesy Ed Betz/AP)

The NHL salary cap continues its exponential annual growth, moving this year to $56 million with a floor of more than $40 million, which makes Tuesday’s opening of free agency all the more interesting.

That means you’ll see plenty of big contracts doled out to guys like Jeff Carter, the Philadelphia Flyers young center who, with just one 45+ point season under his belt, received a 3-year, $15 million deal with the hopes of his continued development. I’m a huge Carter fan, so I think his 29-23-53-+6 performance this season, which included 18 power play points, was a sign of things to come. However, this is definitely a huge leap forward for the league, which used to restrict players from getting out of virtual indentured servantry (is that a word/phrase…it is now) prior to the 04-05 work stoppage. Once the big young guns, such as Florida/Washington defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Green, get their restricted free agent deals, be it from their current squad or an overzealous general manager willing to lose multiple draft picks, we’ll understand the full impact of the new collective bargaining agreement.

For the meantime though, signs of the old free agency are still running rampant because this year’s class includes plenty of old-guard superstars! Jaromir Jagr, Mats Sundin, Jose Theodore, Brendan Shanahan and Wade Redden are all up for grabs on Tuesday, but only a few of them are actually worth pursuing. Which team in the best fit for the best over-30 guys on the market, who is most likely to get them, and how much/how long will their contract be? Here are my predictions.

Best Bets for Saturday

So my first dive into this was pretty bad, as I was 1-2 on Tuesday. However, that had nothing to do with Doug Davis, who I correctly pegged to stop the Red Sox. His bullpen blew a 3-run lead late and cost him a big win on the road.

With that, here are today’s best plays, courtesy of Sportsbook.com.