Bayern held by Hamburg at Imtech Arena
Soccer Betting Lines
02/04/2012 - Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich fell two points off the pace of first-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after it was held to a 1-1 draw at the Imtech Arena by Hamburg.
Borussia Dortmund claimed sole possession of first place in the Bundesliga on Friday with a 2-0 win over Nurnberg, placing additional pressure on Bayern and Schalke in their Saturday contests.
But neither team was able to keep pace this week as they were both only able to produce one point for their efforts.
Bayern faced a difficult test at the Imtech Arena when Italian midfielder Jacopo Sala put Hamburg in front in the 23rd minute.
It took the visitors nearly 50 minutes to equalize, but the breakthrough finally came in the 71st minute through Ivica Olic.
The draw means that both teams have managed to take just four points from their last three games.
Bayern's once comfortable lead in Germany's top flight has vanished as it sits tied with Schalke for second place on 41 points.
Hamburg, meanwhile, improves to 23 points where it is tied with Stuttgart for 10th place in the Bundesliga.
Bayer Leverkusen 2, Stuttgart 2
Leverkusen, Germany - There was high drama at the BayArena on Saturday as Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart played to a 2-2 draw with both sides being reduced to 10 men.
Stefan Kiessling and Julian Schieber traded first-half goals as the two teams headed into the break tied at a goal apiece. Simon Rolfes then converted a penalty kick two minutes into a second period littered with yellow cards. Michal Kadlec was sent off for Bayer Leverkusen, as was Cristian Molinaro for Stuttgart. The visitors left it late to add even more drama to the affair, as Martin Harnik netted in second-half stoppage time to earn a share of the points.
Bayer Leverkusen has drawn two straight as it sits nine points adrift of a place in the top four, while Stuttgart snaps a four-game losing skid in league play to remain mid-table.
Hannover 1, Hertha Berlin 0
Berlin, Germany - Hannover won its second-straight Bundesliga match on Saturday, edging 10-man Hertha Berlin 1-0.
Mohammed Abdellaoue recorded the only goal of the game in the 68th minute, eight minutes before Sebastian Neumann was given his marching orders for picking up his second yellow card.
Hertha Berlin has lost three straight as it remains just two points above the relegation zone, while Hannover, unbeaten in its last seven Bundesliga contests, occupies seventh place on 30 points.
Schalke 1, Mainz 1
Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Schalke and Mainz traded goals on opposite sides of halftime as the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw at the Veltins-Arena on Saturday.
Mainz took the lead 14 minutes into the first half through Mohamed Zidan's first goal of the Bundesliga season, but Chinedu Obasi, on loan from Hoffenheim, equalized for Schalke 14 minutes into the second half.
It was a costly draw for Schalke as it falls two points behind Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund. Mainz, meanwhile, sits in 12th place on 22 points.
Hoffenheim 2, Augsburg 2
Sinsheim, Germany - Hoffenheim went back and forth at the Rhein-Neckar Arena on Saturday as the two sides came out even in a 2-2 draw.
Sascha Molders put the visitors in front in the 31st minute, but Hoffenheim responded immediately as Peniel Mlapa equalized seven minutes later. The second half saw Hoffenheim go in front after Roberto Firmino converted a penalty kick in the 52nd minute, but Augsburg was able to tie it up in the 72nd minute thanks to a goal from Sebastian Langkamp.
Hoffenheim has drawn three of its last four Bundesliga matches and sits eighth with 24 points, while Augsburg has drawn two straight to remain in the relegation zone on 17 points.
Wolfsburg 0, Monchengladbach 0
Wolfsburg, Germany - Wolfsburg and Monchengladbach produced a stalemate at Volkswagen Arena as they played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Wolfsburg remains tied with Hoffenheim on 24 points while Monchengladbach misses out on the opportunity to move into second place as it stays fourth on 40 points.
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City went top of the Premier League on Saturday after defeating Fulham, 3-0, on a snowy night at the Etihad. The Citizens take a three-point lead in England's top tier as riv
<< Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fab Melo returned to the Syracuse lineup after
a three-game absence and the sophomore center paid immediate dividends with 14
points, as the second-ranked Orange controlled the paint and rolled to a 95-70
victory
<< Georgetown cruises past South Florida
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and
five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on
Saturday.
Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the
<< Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier title
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were
semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de
France tennis tournament.
The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6
<< Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the
first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win
over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center. Xavier Gibson added 10 points
Irish down No. 15 Marquette for fourth straight win >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Connaughton drained five three-pointers
en route to a game-high 23 points, as Notre Dame earned its fourth straight
win and snapped Marquette's seven-game winning streak with a 76-59 victory
over th
Boynton helps Florida down Vanderbilt >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Boynton scored 18 points, as No. 12
Florida earned a 73-65 win over No. 25 Vanderbilt in Saturday's hard-fought
SEC showdown.
Bradley Beal added 16 points and seven rebounds while Erving Walker
No. 6 Baylor holds off Oklahoma State >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11
rebounds as No. 6 Baylor survived to take a 64-60 win over Oklahoma State.
Pierre Jackson scored 16 points while Quincy Acy added 11 points and 12
rebounds
Pens edge Bruins for ninth win in 10 games >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves as the
Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at TD Garden.
Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke tallied goals for the Penguins, winners in nine
of their last 10 ga
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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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.