Galaxy look to stifle surging Wizards

Soccer Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy host the Kansas City Wizards in a Major League Soccer fixture at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.

The Galaxy (13-4-4) still sit atop the league with 43 points, but have struggled recently, going 1-2-1 in their last four.

The team jumped out to a big lead at the beginning of the season, but has been coming back to earth recently, with the Eastern leading Columbus Crew only three points back.

"We've just got to tighten up the screws, I guess," L.A. forward Edson Buddle told mlssoccer.com. "We have some time to get things right before the playoffs."

The Galaxy will have that opportunity, with six of their last nine league fixtures at home.

"Time is now for us to start establishing The Home Depot Center as a place where no team wants to come and play," Galaxy veteran Chris Klein told mlssoccer.com.

The Wizards (6-9-5) are in the opposite situation. They started the season very slowly, but are on a tear as of late, going 3-1-2 in their last six.

The team is coming off a 4-1 thumping of the New England Revolution in its last league fixture, and hopes to build off it on the road on Saturday.

"This is good for a number of reasons," Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said after the win. "It puts us three points closer to a playoff spot. It also gets us back into the dance. We're pushing the envelope a little bit. Like I said, performances are one thing, and results are another. We've had a lot of good performances as of late, if you look at our last six games. It's all about us finishing our chances."

The Wizards will be without midfielder Zoltan Hercegfalvi, while the Galaxy will be without midfielder David Beckham, both because of injuries. Galaxy defenders Todd Dunivant and Gregg Berhalter are also listed as questionable on the team's injury report.

Starlcuk Soccer Betting News

<< Newcastle signs Ivory Coast midfielder Tiote
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle signed Ivory Coast defensive midfielder Cheick Tiote from Dutch side FC Twente on Friday. The 24-year-old Ivory Coast international passed a physical and the deal was sealed after he

<< Blackpool signs Varney on season-long loan
Blackpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackpool signed striker Luke Varney on a season-long loan deal from Derby County on Friday. Blackpool has the option to sign the 27-year-old on a permanent basis at the end of the deal. "He is a

<< Reds place P Leake on DL
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed right-hander Mike Leake on the 15-day disabled list Friday with right shoulder fatigue. Leake, whose move is retroactive to August 25, has an 8-4 record with a 4.23 earned run

<< West Brom signs Fortune from Celtic
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich acquired stikrer Marc- Antoine Fortune on Friday from Scottish club Celtic. Fortune played at West Brom earlier in his career while on loan from Nancy and returns to the Premier League

<< Schalke signs Romania winger Deac
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Schalke signed Romania winger Ciprian Deac from CFR Cluj to a three-year contract on Friday Deac, 24, helped CFR Cluj win two Romanian titles and can play on the left and right of midfield.

Fulham signs Mexican defender Salcido >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham signed Mexican defender Carlos Salcido from PSV Eindhoven on Friday and signed him to a three-year contract. Salcido, 30, played every minute for Mexico at the recent FIFA World Cup in South

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.

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

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

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.

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.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting