Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
08/13/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Which one of the following things happened this weekend?
1) Robby Gordon made more friends than enemies.
2) Bill Elliott showed another reason they call him "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" when he gave up his ride so Boris Said would get a chance to race.
3) NASCAR's winningest active driver on a road course, Jeff Gordon, simply drove off the track while leading with two laps to go.
4) Tony Stewart continued his annual summer display of driving prowess, winning his third race in four events.
5) Two of NASCAR's biggest names, Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya, got into a yelling and shoving match during the race.
The answer, as any avid Nextel Cup fan will tell you, is all of the above.
The Centurion Boats at the Glen was one of the most compelling races of the year. The drama began even before the green flag dropped.
After driver Robby Gordon self-destructed in a Busch Series race at Montreal a week ago, he was in the doghouse of many fans and NASCAR. Though he may have been wronged by NASCAR in a caution-flag ruling, his punting of race leader Marcos Ambrose during the race's final laps was not appreciated.
But owner Robby Gordon showed some intestinal fortitude when he offered Ambrose his first chance in a Nextel Cup car as "repayment" for his actions. Unfortunately, rain ended Ambrose's chance to qualify, but both owner and driver have said that they will try again sometime later this year.
When Nextel Cup qualifying was rained out of Friday, a number of other drivers were left out in the cold too. One of them, Boris Said, is a favorite up and down the garage and in the stands. His car didn't have enough owner points to qualify, and the only way he would be able to see the race was from the stands.
Then Bill Elliott stepped forward and offered his car to Said, who thought the racing legend was joking at first. But Elliott was serious, and after working out the details, Said would start from the back of the field. The "road course specialist" who taught many Nextel Cup drivers how to drive at Infineon and Watkins Glen finished a solid 14th. Better still, the "Saidheads" in the stands got a chance to see their favorite drive on the track.
The race itself was as exciting a road-course race as NASCAR has ever produced. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field, leading 71 of 90 laps. In the opening portion of the race, Gordon led Stewart, but on lap 14 Stewart took command. He was still in control on lap 45 when he inexplicably went too deep into turn one and spun the No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet.
Gordon jumped on the slip-up, as Stewart fell all the way to 19th before he could restart his car and get going. From there, Stewart drove with all the considerable talent that the Rushville, IN native owns and with two laps to go was back in second place pressuring Gordon.
Gordon had won nine times on road courses, and the usually unflappable driver seemed headed for No. 10. But in the same corner that Stewart had spun out earlier, Gordon showed that he was human after all. Like Stewart, he took it too deep into the corner, the car jumped on him and he found himself watching helplessly as Stewart flew by him and on to the victory.
And of course, what would a NASCAR event be without an argument between drivers? This one was between two pretty good ones - 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya.
It started when Montoya was hit from behind heading into the same treacherous turn one that Jeff Gordon and Stewart had so much trouble with. This time Montoya was sent careening into Harvick who could see his championship aspirations going up in tire smoke.
The two were stopped in the "grass" and both drivers were clearly angry. Harvick at Montoya, because that's who he saw hit him and Montoya at Martin Truex Jr., the driver who had push him into Harvick. Montoya tried explaining the situation, but Harvick wouldn't hear it. The two began shoving each other and had to be broken up before it got too bloody.
All-in-all, the race showed was what makes NASCAR so popular - great driving and great emotion.
Bravo!
<< Scorching Yanks come back home to face Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chien-Ming Wang looks for his second straight successful
outing against Baltimore when the New York Yankees host the Orioles tonight in
the first of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Wang, a 27-year-old Taiwanese
<< Blue Jays try to extend road success in finale with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays aim for a rare road series win when
they close out a four-game set with the Kansas City Royals this evening at
Kauffman Stadium.
Toronto has claimed two of the first three weekend matchups with Kansas
<< Streaking Mariners return home to face Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners are back home after a very successful
road trip, while the Minnesota Twins are currently enduring a miserable
stretch of road games. The two teams will clash tonight in the first of three
consecutive mee
<< A's, Tigers wrap four-game set in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Chad Durbin returns to the starting rotation
for the Detroit Tigers tonight when they host the Oakland Athletics in the
finale of a four-game set at Comerica Park.
Durbin, a 29-year-old who was drafted in the
Real Madrid locks up Sneijder from Ajax >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid completed the signing of former
Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder on Monday, inking the Dutch international to a
five-year deal.
The 23-year-old Sneijder joins Madrid from Ajax for $36.7 million,
Chicago Bears 2007 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It should go without saying that no one wants to play
the role of runner-up. An obvious statement, but a more profound one in the
NFL, where Super Bowl runners-up have historically enjoyed an ignoble fate.
Before the Seatt
Getting to 53: Chicago Bears Roster Prediction >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Below we take our stab at predicting how the 53-man roster of the 2007 Chicago
Bears will take shape:
QB (3): Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton
RB (4): Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Jason McKie (
Seattle gaining ground >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners refuse to go away in the race for the
American League West crown. The Mariners have been chipping away at the
Angels' lead for over two months now, and find themselves just 3 1/2 games out
of first.
S
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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."
About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting