Birmingham missed out on Cacau

Soccer Betting Lines

05/13/2010 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has confirmed his club missed out on the signing of Stuttgart's Brazilian-born German striker Cacau.

The 29-year-old seemed certain to leave the Bundesliga club this summer, before changing his mind and penning a new contract with his current club.

McLeish confirmed: "We did miss out on Cacau. We thought we had it in the bag and he did an about turn.

"The irony was when we declared our interest in him, he was out of the team.

"I don't know whether our interest in him gave him a lot more confidence, because he then went on a scoring burst and Stuttgart said there was no way they could let him go with what it would cost to replace somebody like that.

"He is one that got away. It would have been a coup for us, the type of player for the jigsaw I am trying to put together, but we will keep working to strengthen the squad."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Footballchancesports Soccer Betting News

<< Three NASCAR teams penalized for Darlington infractions
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR issued penalties to two Sprint Cup Series teams and one Nationwide team on Thursday for rules violations that occurred this past weekend at Darlington Raceway. Samuel Stanley, the crew chief

<< Thursday morning jogs for Preakness favorites
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thursday morning was a time for several of the Preakness starters, including the three favorites, to get acquainted with Pimlico Race Course. The only one of the 12 not at Pimlico is Schoolyard Dreams,

<< Valencia agrees to deal for Topal
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia has agreed to a deal for Turkey international Mehmet Topal with Galatasaray. The 24-year-old midfielder will join the La Liga club for a fee in the region of $6 million, should he pass a summ

<< Bresciano set for Palermo exit
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Palermo midfielder Marco Bresciano is set to leave the Serie A outfit and team up with Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr. The Australian, who is expected to represent his country at this summer's World Cup f

<< Chelsea's Drogba would welcome Torres move
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Didier Drogba has given his blessing for Chelsea to launch a potential summer swoop on Liverpool for Fernando Torres. Torres has been linked with a $59 million move to Stamford Bridge following the en

Hearts to show four the door >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hearts has confirmed Michael Stewart, Jose Goncalves, Laryea Kingston and Christian Nade are all free to leave Tynecastle this summer. The quartet are all out of contract next month and will n

Scott's slam helps Orioles rally past Mariners >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Scott hit his second career grand slam in the eighth inning to help the Baltimore Orioles take a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards. Corey Patterso

Jankovic reaches Madrid quarters >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic highlighted Thursday's third-round winners at the $4.5 million Madrid Open, a clay-court French Open tune-up. The seventh-seeded Jankovic drilled Spain's own

Norris leads Astros to sweep of Cardinals >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bud Norris worked eight strong innings and Hunter Pence hit a three-run home run to help the Houston Astros down the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, to complete a three-game sweep. Norris (2-4) gave up just o

Tigers shut out Yankees behind Cabrera, Verlander >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Cabrera cracked a solo home run and knocked in three, and Justin Verlander scattered four hits over 6 2/3 innings, as the Detroit Tigers handled the New York Yankees, 6-0, in the finale of a four-ga

MySportsbook.com is one of the most efficient and professional online sportsbook today. While some sportsbooks only excel during the busiest seasons, MySportsbook is an excellent choice for the player who wants year-round quality. From their baseball true dime line to their interactive wagering, MySportsbook makes sure their clients would miss them if they went elsewhere.

Players won’t find any novelties at this sportsbook. The site is clean and simple and most importantly, fast. Customer Service handles matters in an expedient manner and accounting does everything possible to assure players that they have full control of their funds. The online banking center is open 24/7 in which time Neteller payouts are processed.

Management’s background and understanding of sports gambling has helped make them pioneers in the online betting market. MySportsbook was the first betting site to offer sports wagering in the best form. Interactive wagering was first offered in 1997. Players who don’t stop wagering when the game begins consider this sportsbook a true asset.

Players who are looking for outstanding value, extensive wagering options and inexpensive payouts will appreciate what MySportsbook.com offers. Those who are looking for perks and high bonuses would be best suited in a sportsbook geared towards the regular player.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs.

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.