Struggling Valencia fires coach Koeman, four others
Soccer Betting Lines
04/22/2008 -
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia have sacked coach Ronald Koeman
following a disastrous six-month spell at the helm of the ailing La Liga club.
The Dutch coach led Valencia to victory in last week's Cope del Rey Final but
was axed following his side's dismal performance in Sunday's 5-1 thrashing at
the hands of Athletic Bilbao.
That result left the former league champions in 15th place in the table and
just two points clear of the drop zone.
The former PSV Eindhoven coach won just four of 22 league matches after
replacing the sacked Quique Sanchez Flores in November.
Koeman's assistants, Toni Bruins Slot and Jose Mari Bakero, plus much-
criticised sporting director Miguel Angel Ruiz and also technical secretary
Antonio Fernandez have also been fired.
Salvador Gonzalez, who is also known as 'Voro', has been placed in temporary
charge at the Mestalla until the end of the season.
The former Los Che player and current club delegate will be assisted by
goalkeeping coach Jose Manuel Ochotorena.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Agent: Gattuso will stay at AC Milan
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso will remain
with AC Milan, according to his agent.
Gattuso, 30, has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Real Madrid
following the Rossoneri's disappointing seas
<< Barca's Eto'o plays down exit rumors
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o has played
down reports suggesting he is keen to quit the club at the end of the season.
The Cameroon international had intimated a lack of silverware in recent years
was l
<< Bayern striker Schlaudraff headed to Hannover
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - German international Jan Schlaudraff has
agreed to a transfer from Bayern Munich to Hannover this summer.
Schlaudraff, 24, has signed a four-year contract to say with Hannover through
2012. Terms of the
<< 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
<< 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
Kapler's single lifts Brewers over Cardinals in 12th inning >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gabe Kapler singled home the game-winning run
in the 12th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers came away with a 9-8 victory over
the St. Louis Cardinals to split their two-game series at Miller Park.
Gabe Gross,
D.C. United signs Liberian striker Doe >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United signed Liberian national team
striker Francis Doe on Tuesday
D.C. United acquired Doe's playing rights after the forward was waived by New
York on February 21. Per team and league policy,
Kellogg to be named coach at UMass >>
Amherst, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Massachusetts will unveil its
new basketball coach on Wednesday.
Numerous media sources have pegged Memphis assistant and former Minutemen
player Derek Kellogg as the choice, and he wil
A-Rod out of lineup for Yankees >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will
miss the first two games of New York's three-game set against the Chicago
White Sox starting Tuesday.
Rodriguez is spending time with his wife, Cynthia, in
Brewers deal Gross to Tampa Bay; Gwynn recalled >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers traded outfielder Gabe
Gross to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, in exchange for pitcher Josh Butler.
In an additional move, outfielder Tony Gwynn was recalled from a rehab
assign
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.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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