Reality check: Germany held to scoreless draw by England

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After setting a record with 11 goals in its opening match, Germany was held to a 0-0 draw by England on Friday.

Germany had scored a goal in its last 11 World Cup games, the third longest streak ever, but had that mark stopped thanks to a stubborn England back line and a big save in the game's final 10 minutes by keeper Rachel Brown.

Germany would have secured a spot in the quarterfinals with a win, but will have to wait until Monday against Japan to do so. The Japanese earned a 1-0 win against Argentina earlier in the day, putting them in a tie atop Group A with the Germans.

England, meanwhile, played to its second straight draw in the tournament, but is in a good position to advance as long as they can beat a weak Argentina side on Monday.

England enjoyed a strong start to the match, and had the better of the play early on.

A mistake by German keeper Nadine Angerer in the sixth minute nearly allowed England to steal the lead. A long ball from the back intended for Kelly Smith skipped to the edge of the area, and Angerer came off her line to clear it. She ran to the edge of the box and tried to head the ball clear because she was unsure of where she was on the field. The ball glanced off her head and went behind her but rolled wide of the goal.

Germany did not find too many openings in the first half, but had a good free- kick chance in the 11th minute. Melanie Behringer was on the ball 35 yards from goal and decided to take a crack at the net, blasting a hard shot over the wall and just over the crossbar.

England tried to grab the opening goal on a set piece of its own, with Fara Williams driving the ball low into the box for Smith. The ball was struck low and just skipped over the foot of Smith, who tried to redirect it from the penalty spot.

Germany's Kerstin Garefrekes got open inside the box and sent a glancing header on net minutes before halftime, but Brown saved it easily.

The two teams played a fairly even first half, with Smith looking dangerous for England, and Germany serving up some promising crosses.

Germany began to take control of the contest after the restart, spending the majority of the second half inside the England portion of the field. The English defense held up despite coming under pressure and being forced to deal with a number of balls played into the box.

Captain Birgit Prinz got involved in the 72nd minute when Sandra Smisek took a pass at the top of the box with her back to the goal and laid it off for Prinz. The star striker took a touch into the box but had defender Faye White all over her back. She was able to get a sliding shot off, but it had little behind it and rolled comfortably to Brown.

The best chance of the match fell to Garefrekes eight minutes from time, but Brown came up with a big stop to keep Germany off the board. A loose ball at the edge of the box was knocked toward goal but took a deflection off of an England defender. The ball ended up on the foot of Garefrekes, who was open at the right post. She hit a low shot along the ground that was headed for the far post, but Brown got down and knocked the ball away with her foot, preserving a share of the points for England.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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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."

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