'Lucky' Dallas looks to stay unbeaten vs. Revs
Soccer Betting Lines
04/22/2008 -
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper admits the team
is "lucky."
FC Dallas hasn't lost through four games and is the only unbeaten remaining in
Major League Soccer.
But Cooper wasn't labeling the good start as "lucky."
"I feel we are lucky here to have a very deep squad," said Cooper, who leads
the team with four goals and is second in the league behind Los Angeles Galaxy
forward Landon Donovan.
Cooper has played a huge role in the fast start but Arturo Alvarez, Juan Toja,
Abe Thompson and numerous other players have helped Dallas has jump out to an
early lead in the Western Conference.
"I have so much confidence in everyone in the squad," Cooper said.
Coach Steve Morrow hopes the "team" effort that has been key for FC Dallas so
far this season continues Thursday night when the New England Revolution visit
Pizza Hut Park.
"It's still early in the season, it's still early days," Morrow said. "I still
think there's room for improvement with the team."
But Morrow also mentioned after the club's 2-0 victory at Chivas USA last week
that it was Dallas' best performance of the season.
"I think so, yeah. We're definitely starting to see things come together a bit
more," he said.
"I don't think we played as well as we can over the 90 minutes. But to win 2-0
and get a clean sheet (at Chivas), is very, very positive."
Cooper was responsible Dallas' early lead with his fourth goal of the year in
the fifth minute. Ricardinho and Dax McCarty assisted on the goal.
Abe Thompson scored his first goal of the season off an assist from Alvarez in
the second half.
Duilio Davino and Drew Moor anchored the defense to help goalkeeper Dario Sala
post a shutout.
With so many contributions from so many players, it's no wonder Cooper feels
so "lucky."
"Ricardinho came in and played a part in (my) goal, Arturo's gotten off to an
incredible start, Abe Thompson, you saw the quality of his finish," Cooper
said.
Dallas will try to pick up three points against New England before the league
runners-up get healthy.
Striker Taylor Twellman has missed the first five matches and midfielder Steve
Ralston has sat out the last four with injuries.
New England has still managed to win two of its first four games and earned a
1-1 draw at Red Bull New York last week despite playing with 10 men.
"The guys showed you what they're all about. Only 10 men and one-nil down, we
get a point. It shows you the character of the club," New England coach Steve
Nicol said.
The Revolution won the regular-season series last year, winning both games and
have won the two-game series in three of the past four years.
New England hopes to avoid losing too many points early in the season without
Twellman and Ralston, but Cooper has other ideas.
"Hopefully," Cooper said, "we can take this positive start and get better and
better."
<< Amey, LeJeune and Geathers earn weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Gladiators WR OTIS AMEY, New
Orleans VooDoo DB NORMAN LEJEUNE, and San Jose SaberCats WR/LB JASON
GEATHERS have been named Offensive Player, ADT Defensive Player, and
Ironman of the Week, respectively,
<< Celtic's Samaras rules out return to Man City
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greece international Georgios Samaras
insists he has no intention of returning to Manchester City when his loan
spell at Celtic comes to an end.
The 23-year-old moved to Glasgow in January after
<< Last-second own goal hands Chelsea draw at Liverpool
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool's John Arne Riise erased 94
minutes of hard work on the final play of Tuesday's Champions League semifinal
clash against English rival Chelsea.
Riise scored an own goal in the 95th minute -
<< Beckett scratched from start
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Sox ace Josh Beckett was a late scratch
from Tuesday night's scheduled start at Fenway Park against the Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim with a stiff neck.
Beckett, who is 2-1 with a 5.12 earned run
<< Dortmund's Moyes agrees to permanent move to Everton
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton boss David Moyes has agreed to
a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Steven Pienaar on a permanent
basis.
The 26-year-old South Africa international has agreed a three-year deal th
Los Angeles Sparks >>
Acquired forward DeLisha Milton-Jones from Washington for center Taj McWilliams-Franklin and a 2009 first-round draft pick.
Redknapp may let duo leave Portsmouth >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has
admitted that he would be willing to let fringe first-team players Sean Davis
and Pedro Mendes leave Fratton Park this summer if the right offers come in
for the
Geiberger and Powell win Demaret Division title >>
Savannah, GA Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Geiberger and Jimmy Powell teamed up for a
10-under 62 on Tuesday to cruise to a five-shot victory in the Demaret
Division of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
The pair finished at 18-under-par
Fulham's Nevland: We need to win last three >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham striker Erik Nevland has conceded
the club needs to win all three of its remaining games to avoid relegation to
the Championship.
The 19th-placed Cottagers lurched closer to the trap door af
Cedeno powers Cubs past Mets >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronny Cedeno belted a grand slam, and Ted
Lilly hurled six solid innings as Chicago downed New York, 8-1 , in the
finale of a brief two-game set at Wrigley Field.
Cedeno finished 2-for-5 and drove
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.
|
