Simao calls it quits on Portugal career
Soccer Betting Lines
08/27/2010 - Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal winger Simao Sabrosa announced on Friday that his international career has come to an end.
In a letter to the Portuguese Football Federation, Simao stated that he was retiring for "personal reasons" and that he felt it was time to create room for new players.
The 30-year-old Atletico Madrid man was the most capped player on Portugal's roster at the World Cup in South Africa, having made 85 appearances with 22 international goals.
The announcement comes just one week before Portugal opens its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign at home against Cyprus.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts linebacker Gary Brackett will not face significant time off, after X-rays taken on his right hand were negative. The Indy Star reported on Friday that a source close to the
<< Canada Basketball sets roster for Worlds
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canada Basketball announced Friday its final
12-man roster for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
The roster includes NBA players: Joel Anthony of the Miami Heat and Andy
Rautins of the New York Knicks.
<< Bordeaux signs Tunisia midfielder Ben Khalfallah
Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bordeaux signed Tunisia midfielder Fahid
Ben Khalfallah from Valenciennes on Friday.
Ben Khalfallah, 27, signed a four-year contract with Bordeaux, which needed to
replace playmaker Yoann Gourcuff in mi
<< Blackburn signs striker Mwaruwari
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn signed former Manchester City
and Portsmouth striker Benjani Mwaruwari to a one-year contract Friday.
Mwaruwari, 32, was signed on a free transfer. The Zimbabwe international was
released by
<< Inter remains the team to beat in Serie A
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan has dominated Serie A over the
past four seasons, and after a summer transfer period that has been extremely
uneventful, the Nerazzurri will enter the season as favorites to retain their
title.
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus announced on Friday that the club has signed Italy international striker Fabio Quagliarella on loan from Napoli. Juve will pay Napoli $5.8 million to take Quagliarella on loan for the upcoming
Stakhovsky, Istomin land in New Haven finale >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ninth-seeded Sergiy Stakhovsky was an easy
semifinal winner while 15th-seeded Denis Istomin battled to a three-set win
Friday to reach the final at the $750,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final
hardcou
Bodine tops in truck qualifying at Chicagoland >>
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Bodine will start on the pole for Friday's
EnjoyIllinois.com 225 Camping World Truck Series race after posting the
fastest lap in qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway.
Bodine, the last driver to make
Baltimore P Johnson reinstated from 60-day DL >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles reinstated pitcher Jim
Johnson from the 60-day disabled list on Friday.
Johnson has been on the 60-day DL since May 28, and hasn't pitched since April
30 against Boston due to right
United, Chivas square off at The HDC >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and Chivas USA square off in a
battle of Major League Soccer bottom-feeders on Sunday night at The Home Depot
Center.
Both teams sit at the bottom of their respective conference tables w
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
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.