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11/08/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple days after the New England Revolution won their first trophy in franchise history, the U.S. Open Cup, Major League Soccer's 2007 Defender of the Year Michael Parkhurst said, "These opportunities don't come very much in the sport. We want to take advantage of these championship runs when they come along."
After a Taylor Twellman bicycle kick goal held up on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in the MLS Eastern Conference final, the Revs have a chance to take advantage of another championship run. This time for the MLS Cup after the team advanced to the league championship game for the third consecutive year.
Twellman scored the spectacular goal in the 38th minute after winger Wells Thompson crossed into the Chicago penalty area. Twellman headed the ball straight up in the air, turned and fired an overhead shot between defenders Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause and past goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the 1-0 lead.
The goal was Twellman's ninth in MLS playoff history to tie him with Brian McBride for seventh all-time. Twellman has tallied six goals in his last seven playoff games, including two in three games this season.
His fifth career playoff goal against the Fire would hold up as the Revolution knocked rivals Chicago out of the playoffs for the fourth time in their playoff history. The Revs also improve to 6-0-0 all-time at home against the Fire in the postseason while snapping the visitors 10-game unbeaten streak.
The game started with the Revolution getting a couple early shots - by Twellman and Thompson - in the first four minutes, but neither was on target.
C.J. Brown had Chicago's first shot, but it also went wide in the sixth minute.
Chicago forward Paulo Wanchope had the first legitimate chance two minutes later when he took control of the ball in the box, but his shot from the right side of the penalty area went wide of the far post.
Twellman had the best early chance of the game about 10 minutes later when he headed a shot from about six-yards out toward the far post, but a diving Pickens got a hand on it to tip it over the crossbar and keep the game scoreless.
Chicago's best chance of the first half occurred on a free kick from outside the left side of the Revs' box. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who drew the foul, took the kick and played a perfect ball to Wanchope, who was alone in the middle of the six-yard box and onside only because defender Avery John was level with him. Wanchope got his head on the cross, but he snapped it wide of the near post.
Twellman then gave the home side the first-half lead with a his bicycle kick goal seven minutes before the break.
Revs' captain Steve Ralston had a great look from the top of the box in the 44th minute after Twellman and Pat Noonan worked the defense before playing a ball to the veteran, but the league's all-time leader in assists blasted the shot high and wide.
The second half started slow as the Revs defense, led by Parkhurst and central midfielder Shalrie Joseph, shut down the Fire attack. The visitors did get a chance when a Chad Barrett blast from the top of the box went wide of the left post just before the hour mark.
Wilman Conde let a 30-yard knuckler loose three minutes later, but it just wide of the left post also.
Five minutes later, Twellman tried for the double with a chip shot after Khano Smith received a pass from Noonan and found the forward on the right side at the top of the box, but it was saved by Pickens.
About 10 minutes later, with the Fire pressing for the equalizer, Chicago defender Gonzalo Segares blasted long shot in on goal that was saved by Matt Reis, one of his 10 saves in the game.
Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio brought in Justin Mapp, who has missed the previous 11 games with an ankle injury, in the 77th minute in an effort to spark his team's offense, but the talented American had little impact in the final 13 minutes.
Pickens kept it close seven minutes from time with a save on Noonan, who drove at the defense, beat a defender then hit a shot from a crowd in the box.
Fire attacker Chris Rolfe, held in check most of the game after scoring two goals in the semis against D.C., had two shots in the final five minutes, but was unable to beat Reis.
The Fire's last good chance came in the 90th minute when late substitute Calen Carr headed a Blanco cross on goal from close range, but Reis did well to hang on for his third shutout in three postseason games this season and seventh all-time, good for a fourth-place tie with former Columbus 'keeper Tom Presthus.
The Revs will now play the winner of the other conference final between defending champs Houston and Kansas City on Saturday. The MLS Cup final will be Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
<< Devils continue dominance over Flyers at home
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karel Rachunek had a goal and an assist as the
New Jersey Devils downed the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, at Prudential Center.
Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta each scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-
game s
<< Holmqvist, O'Brien lead Lightning over Canes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane O'Brien netted a pair of goals to pace
the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, at the RBC Center.
Vaclav Prospal had a goal and two assists and Michel Ouellet donated a pair of
helpe
<< Wolverine guard Smith suspended one game
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan junior guard Jerret Smith has been
suspended for the Wolverines' season opener against Radford on November 9 for
violating the team policy regarding class attendance, the school announced
Thursda
<< Tampa Bay Rays introduce new name, mascot, uniforms
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays officially
dropped the "Devil" from their name, and the new Tampa Bay Rays introduced
their new image, mascot, and uniforms in a ceremony held in downtown St.
Petersb
Kozlov, Capitals stun Senators >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Viktor Kozlov had a goal and two assists as the
Washington Capitals shocked the Ottawa Senators with a 4-1 win at Scotiabank
Place.
Nicklas Backstrom scored his first career goal while Tomas Fleischmann a
Canadiens edge Bruins >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec tallied a goal and an assist to
lead the Montreal Canadiens to 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in a tight
contest between two Original Six and Northeast Division rivals at TD Banknorth
Garden.
Fasth and Stadler lead in Shanghai >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niclas Fasth and Kevin Stadler each fired
rounds of eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the
HSBC Champions tournament at Sheshan International Golf Club.
This is the first
Thomas leads the way as Bulls get first win, hand Pistons first loss >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyrus Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 14
rebounds, leading the Chicago Bulls to their first win of the season, 97-93,
over the previously unbeaten Detroit Pistons.
The win for the Bulls came despite a
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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