Jiracek's brace lifts Wolfsburg over Freiburg
Soccer Betting Lines
02/10/2012 - Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petr Jiracek scored the first and last goals as Wolfsburg downed Freiburg, 3-2, on Friday at Volkswagen Arena in the Bundesliga.
Jiracek was one of the many new faces Wolfsburg signed in January, and newly- capped Czech Republic international provided his first two goals as Wolves won for the second time in four matches since the winter break.
Marcel Schafer also scored for Wolfsburg, which led twice within 14 minutes as Freiburg answered Jiracek's 5th-minute strike in the 12th through Johannes Flum and responded a second time through Daniel Caligiuri in the 38th.
Jiracek's second goal came just after the hour mark as the Czech international - who just debuted for his country last year - continued his emergence with a strong Bundesliga match.
Wolfsburg climbed to eighth in the table and within four points of a European place, while Freiburg lost for the third time in its last five to remain stuck on the foot of the table.
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon slipped 10 points behind Ligue 1 leader PSG last weekend, so a visit by Caen on Saturday - ahead of Tuesday's last 16 Champions League match against APOEL - has turned into a must-win match. Since win
<< Dunfermline out to end dry spell against Rangers
Dunfermline, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dunfermline will try to snap a pair
of negative streaks on Saturday when the club hosts second-place Rangers.
In the last 30 meetings between the two teams, Dunfermline has managed just
one win,
<< Blues place Arnott on IR
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have placed forward
Jason Arnott on injured reserve, the team announced Friday.
Arnott has not played since suffering a shoulder injury against Los Angeles on
February 3.
The 37-
<< CFL extends Cohon through 2015
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League announced that
commissioner Mark Cohon has signed a contract extension that will keep him in
charge through the 2015 season.
"Our Board of Governors is unanimously pleased to
<< Titans lock up WR Hawkins with multi-year deal
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans signed wide receiver
Lavelle Hawkins to a multi-year contract on Friday.
Hawkins caught 47 passes for 470 yards and recorded his first career touchdown
last season. He ranked second o
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League play resumes this weekend with the latest installment of one of the country's fiercest rivalries. Manchester United and Liverpool meet at Old Trafford on Saturday, and
Everton's double proves too much for Twente >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton scored a goal in each half as
Heracles claimed a surprising 3-2 win at Twente on Friday, preventing the home
side from joining PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar at the top of the league.
Everton s
Royals sign 12 players to one-year deals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean O'Sullivan and Blake Wood have agreed
to terms on one-year contracts with the Kansas City Royals.
The pitchers were just two of 12 players to sign a contract with the Royals
for the upcoming season
49ers extend GM Baalke >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers have extended the
contract of general manager Trent Baalke through 2016.
49ers president and CEO Jed York announced the move via his Twitter account on
Friday.
Baalke, who was
Orioles ink veteran P Ayala >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles signed veteran
reliever Luis Ayala to a one-year contract on Friday.
The right-hander's deal includes a club option for 2013.
Ayala, 34, is familiar with the American Leagu
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.