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08/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monty couldn't win.
There were five players vying for three spots on the European Ryder Cup team. Technically, there might have been six golfers for three spots, after Colin Montgomerie himself floated Bernhard Langer's name out there.
Somebody's feelings were going to be hurt on Sunday. Sadly, someone's feelings were going to be hurt at an event on the other side of the pond, and that's indicative of the bigger problem.
Padraig Harrington, Edoardo Molinari and Luke Donald were tabbed for the three spots, and Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Langer weren't. Everyone but Molinari was in the field at the Barclays on the PGA Tour.
So Monty was able to get a hold of Rose before he teed off on Sunday. Had to be a fun call, but it's one that's always made.
You want real awkward, like lose your wedding ring in a strip club awkward?
Caroline Harrington got a text message saying her husband made the team. She gave the thumbs-up to Paddy's caddy who told the Irishman. His playing partner felt a little overwhelmed and ignored once Harrington received the news.
Harrington's playing partner? Paul Casey.
"Caroline's a great friend," said Casey. "She would have said something to me if I had been picked. So at that point I kind of knew that I hadn't. It was about two-and-a-half hours. It was difficult."
That's just a bad confluence of events, but some are criticizing Monty's picks.
Molinari was a lock. He won on Sunday and did so with birdies at the last two holes. The Italian won twice this summer and if that doesn't get you on the team, what could?
Plus, his brother Francesco made the team on points. Seems like a pretty simple pairing to me, and to Monty.
"I don't think I have to tell you who his partner might be in the four-ball or the foursomes," joked Montgomerie.
Harrington has had a terrible year, but he won three majors in the last three years. He's played on every Ryder Cup team since 1999 and is a veteran presence on a team, with the inclusion of Edoardo Molinari, that has six rookies.
The Donald inclusion isn't hard to fathom either. He's had maybe the best summer of anyone. Donald has eight top 10s all over the world, including a win at the Madrid Masters.
Hard to argue his credentials.
The problem is, anyone can make a case for Rose or Casey as well.
Casey is the ninth-ranked player in the whole world. Rose won twice on the PGA Tour this summer at some pretty remarkable venues like Muirfield and Aronimink.
It makes very little sense to almost anyone how a top-10 player in the world can't make a team of the top 12 players on a continent.
"That's up for the committee and European Tour to sort out of which I'm a member of the committee, but we will see," said Casey.
It's a tricky situation for the European Ryder Cup committee. The U.S. team is run by the PGA of America and they don't run the PGA Tour. The European team is run by the European Tour.
The logical play is to get more of the top-ranked Europeans on the team. The realization has been made to a certain degree that the state of golf is global now. The majority of European Ryder Cuppers play the U.S. full time, so why not make the standard for team membership even more world-ranking-based?
As it stands now, the top four in the world-rankings-based points list make the team and the next five come from a European Tour-based points system. Why not at least flip that so you have the best possible team? Heck, I'd even make it six and three.
You have to give credit to guys like Peter Hanson and Ross Fisher for making the team. But my dad won't have a clue who those guys are.
This process is based on the fact that European Tour has to protect itself. If making the Ryder Cup team becomes too world-ranking oriented, than some Europeans may not play that tour at all.
It's certainly an interesting pickle. The reality is that changes are probably not forthcoming. It's definitely a nice problem to have for the European side. Woe is us, we have too much high-ranking talent to make our team.
It's a better problem than Corey Pavin will have a week from now. Only one top 10 player to choose from for Captain Corey. I think he'd take Casey and Rose. They do live in the U.S. part-time.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- I'd have gone Harrington, Molinari and Rose myself. Donald's summer love tour aside, I would have had a hard time leaving off a guy who won twice in the U.S. this summer.
- Here's how I handicap Pavin's four picks - Locks: Tiger Woods. Likely: Zach Johnson. Screwing himself badly out of an easy lock pick: Anthony Kim. Possible, but I hope not as a proud American: Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover. I'm gonna say Pavin goes Woods, Johnson, Cink and Glover, but with a big push from some Americans at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the last two are subject to change. I think they are actually ripe to be knocked off this list, so go get 'em, U.S. guys.
- The Jim Furyk disqualification at The Barclays is a stunningly bad rule. How can you disqualify a player for missing a pro-am tee time when only half of the field is even asked to participate in the pro-am in the first place? Isn't that by very definition completely unfair? Thanks for being such a good player and such a big star. We trust you to schmooze with our sponsors. Now you have to adhere to rules that half of the field doesn't. Ridiculous.
- Michelle Wie wins and now has to stop in a little bit to go back to Stanford. Tough decisions I did not have to make in my pursuit of a.) a degree and b.) millions of dollars.
- Movie moment - I tweeted this recently, but the most underrated great movie of the last 25 years is "The Insider." Russell Crowe is at his best in this movie. (No offense, "A Beautiful Mind." Tons of offense, "Gladiator.") I could watch Christopher Plummer destroy Gina Gershon verbally all day. Just a great movie in every way imaginable. Even a golf scene, so that's something.
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Tiger Wo
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.
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In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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 odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
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