Lightning name Tod Leiweke CEO

Hockey Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning chairman and governor Jeff Vinik announced Monday that Tod Leiweke has been named the team's chief executive officer.

Officially, Leiweke becomes the CEO of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment and its subsidiaries, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum. Leiweke also becomes an alternate governor to the NHL's Board of Governors for the Lightning, and will acquire an ownership stake in Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, pending NHL approval.

"I am thrilled to welcome Tod to the Lightning organization as CEO and as my partner," Vinik said. "Tod has the vision, the passion and the experience to lead the franchise towards my goal of being world class on and off the ice. He is an inspirational leader and I am delighted he has shown the confidence in the entire Tampa Bay community to join the Lightning."

Leiweke has spent the last seven years as CEO of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and president of Vulcan Sports, providing oversight of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and Major League Soccer's Seattle franchise.

Additionally, Leiweke has NHL front office experience, having been the executive vice president of the Vancouver Canucks and president of the Minnesota Wild.

"Jeff, Steve [Yzerman, the team's general manager] and I all believe that we can build a Lightning organization that will bring back the winning and pride to the entire Tampa Bay community," Leiweke said. "I envision a day when the Lightning will regularly play in front of sold-out crowds at the St. Pete Times Forum and be recognized as one of the leading corporate citizens in Tampa Bay."

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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