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Captain Zdeno Chara of Boston -- assisted by Joffrey Lupul of Toronto -- took the three-time Selke Winner Datsyuk.

 

"I'm very appreciative to be taken first," said Datsyuk. "It was kind of a surprise, actually."

 

The second round saw Team Chara take Boston goaltender Tim Thomas, the reigning Conn Smythe and Vezina winner, while Team Alfredsson took Ottawa forward Jason Spezza.

 

Forward Marian Hossa of Chicago and defenseman Kimmo Timmonen of Philadelphia rounded out the top five picks by Chara and forward Claude Giroux from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang were the fourth and fifth picks for Alfredsson's team.

 

The next five picks for Team Alfredsson were forward Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, St. Louis goaltender Brian Elliott, defenseman Shea Weber from Nashville, Vancouver forward Daniel Sedin and New York Rangers forward Dan Girardi.

 

Alfredsson took Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle, Ottawa forward Milan Michalek, Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin, Pittsburgh forward James Neal and Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler for his 11-15 picks.

 

Forwards Marian Gaborik of the Rangers, Jordan Eberle from Edmonton and Tyler Seguin from Boston went to Chara with the next three picks while forwards John Tavares of the Islanders, Scott Hartnell from Philly and Jason Pominville from Buffalo went to Alfredsson.

 

"Being the young guy and with these great players, I knew it was a possibility," said Couture.

 

The representatives for Team Chara's freshman class are forwards Gabriel Landeskog of Colorado, Ryan Johansen of Columbus, Cody Hodgson of Vancouver, Colin Greening of Ottawa and Luke Adam from Buffalo, defenseman Raphael Diaz of Montreal.

 

This will be the second skills event under the league's current All-Star format of selecting team captains and having the rosters chosen by a fantasy draft, which took place this past Thursday. Boston's Chara is the head of one team, opposed by hometown favorite Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators.

 

The Breakaway Challenge is one of the six events on tap for Saturday's battle and has been won by Ovechkin all three times since it debuted at the 2008 event. The phase involves one player mixing skill and creativity on a breakaway attempt on a goaltender. The event differs from a penalty shot in that a skater can start from anywhere in the offensive zone.

 

Ovechkin would have likely been the favorite to repeat in the event, but he pulled out of the All-Star festivities after getting suspended for three games for leaving his feet to deliver a high, hard check versus Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. Ovechkin was still eligible to participate in the events, but opted out.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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