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07/26/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Zakuani scored a pair of goals in the opening 20 minutes as Seattle Sounders FC handed the Colorado Rapids a 2-1 defeat at Qwest Field on Sunday.
Sounders designated player Blaise Nkufo was making his Major League Soccer debut, but it was Zakuani that stole the headlines as he scored eight minutes into the game, and after Omar Cummings equalized one minute later for the Rapids, he added another goal in the 17th minute.
The win means that Seattle (6-8-4) has now claimed seven points from its last three games following a three-game losing skid, while the Rapids (6-5-5) are now winless in their last six games.
Zakuani was a bit fortunate to put his team in the lead after just eight minutes as he collected a pass inside the penalty area from Fredy Montero and drove a low shot off the near post. However, the ball came off the post and struck the back of Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens, redirecting it into the net.
The Rapids answered almost immediately, however, as Cummings took possession of the ball on the right wing and cut towards the top of the box before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot that flew past goalkeeper Kasey Keller and into the upper-right corner of the goal.
Seattle then regained the lead eight minutes later with some good work from Sanna Nyassi. He chased down a ball on the right wing and carried it into the area before picking out a cutting Zakuani for a simple finish from a few yards.
Again Colorado tried to answer shortly after conceding a goal, but this time Keller did well to tip Conor Casey's header over the crossbar in the 19th minute.
The Rapids were the more dangerous side over the second half, with Seattle playing a more conservative style, and Colorado's best chance to equalize came in the 62nd minute.
Pablo Mastroeni scuffed a shot from outside the area but Jamie Smith did a nice job of redirecting the weak effort on target. However, Keller reacted quickly and did enough to keep the ball out.
Only seconds later, Cummings wasted a great opportunity when he was played in on goal by Mehdi Ballouchy, but he shot the ball over the net from 12 yards with only Keller to beat.
<< Texas takes series from Angels to extend division lead
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Hamilton went 3-for-4 with a triple and
three RBI and Tommy Hunter stayed undefeated on the year, as Texas pulled out
a 6-4 victory over the American League West rival Angels.
The Angels made big new
<< Ferdinand still six weeks away from return
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand is still six weeks away from returning to action.
Ferdinand looks set to miss the start of the new season despite previous
suggestions of a full
<< Guti announces Real Madrid departure
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guti officially announced his departure from
Real Madrid on Sunday after 15 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 33-year-old midfielder debuted with Real in 1995 after joining the club as
a nine-year-old, a
<< Marta, Milbrett help FC Gold Pride topple Freedom
Boyds, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two goals apiece from Marta and Tiffeny Milbrett
allowed FC Gold Pride to claim a comfortable 4-1 win over the Washington
Freedom at Maryland Soccerplex.
Milbrett opened the scoring 18 minutes into the
Former free agent pitching bust having a big season >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia, Carl Pavano, Justin Verlander,
David Price, John Lester. Tell me which name doesn't belong on this list.
If you said Carl Pavano, you normally wouldn't get much of an argument, at
least until this
Angels get Dan Haren and a tree falls in the forest >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yawn.
That is exactly the first thought that went through my head when my I-Phone
beeped on Sunday night with the news that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had
acquired Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Joe Sau
Phillies go for four-game sweep of Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to complete a four-game
sweep of the Colorado Rockies this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia won its fourth straight game on Sunday, as Jimmy Rollins tied the
contest and then
Appalachian State, Villanova stars headline All-America team >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State may have lost two-time
Walter Payton Award winner Armanti Edwards, but it boasts a national-best
seven players on The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com Football Championship
Subdivision Preseason A
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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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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