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09/12/2007 - Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning FIFA Player of the Year Marta scored two goals as Brazil started its World Cup with a dominating 5-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday.
Marta scored both goals in the second half and Daniela, Christiane and Renata also scored for Brazil, which led just 1-0 at halftime.
New Zealand remained winless in World Cup play, falling to 0-4 all time. The team was making its first appearance since the inaugural event in 1991.
Brazil opened the scoring in the 10th minute on a great goal from Daniela. The play was set up by a long pass down the left sideline to Christiane, who headed the ball back to Daniela about 35 yards from goal.
Daniela settled the ball and made a quick touch forward and to her right to set up a 30-yard effort, Her swerving, dipping shot sailed over New Zealand goalie Jenny Bindon and under the crossbar.
Although Brazil controlled most of the possession throughout the first half, it didn't have another great scoring chance until the 40th minute. Christiane had the chance, but put a header just over the crossbar.
Marta, who was also the runner-up for 2005 FIFA Player of the Year, didn't touch the ball until nearly midway through the opening half. The first few times she had the ball, she was swarmed by numerous New Zealand defenders.
Marta started to flash her skills late in the first half and made impressive moves on one play late in the half at the top of the 18 to set up a teammate for an open shot.
She continued to dazzle early in the second half as she continuously drew as many as three defenders. She had a great chance early in the second half but put a shot well high.
Brazil started to dominate early in the second half and New Zealand, which rarely had the ball in Brazil's end in the opening half, was unable to keep the ball for more than a touch or two at a time.
Miraldes delivered Brazil's first strong chance after the break, putting a header high in the 53rd minute off a corner from Daniela.
Just one minute later, Brazil extended its lead on another great strike from outside the box. Christiane had a great individual effort with three defenders in front of her to set the ball up for a left-footed shot, which she hammered toward the upper left corner. Bindon made a diving attempt, but the shot was unstoppable and sailed into the upper left corner.
Brazil continued to threaten as Daniela barely missed her second goal with a shot off the crossbar in the 65th minute.
In the 73rd, Marta finally found enough space to get an open look on goal and didn't waste the opportunity. Christiane sprung Marta with a short pass into the left side of the box and Marta fired a shot that went off the hands of Bindon and into the lower right corner.
Brazil made it 4-0 in the 86th minute on Renata's blast from 40 yards out. She blasted a shot that started out heading toward the middle of the goal and bent into the right side of the net past a diving attempt from Bindon.
Marta continued to make up for her sluggish start, scoring her second goal in extra time. She got the ball on the top right side of the box and went left to line up a shot, which she hit with her left foot just inside the right post.
Marta picked up where she left off in the 2003 World Cup, where she had three goals in four games as a 17-year-old.
Brazil, ranked eighth in the world, continues Group D play on Saturday against hosts China. New Zealand plays Denmark on Saturday.
<< Piazza leads Oakland over Seattle
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Pizza was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles
and two runs batted in as Oakland downed Seattle, 7-4, at Safeco Field.
Shannon Stewart also drove in two runs for the Athletics, who won the first
two games
<< Padres power past Diamondbacks
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Giles, Khalil Greene and Kevin
Kouzmanoff hit home runs during an early six-run offensive explosion, more
than enough for ace Jake Peavy, as San Diego clubbed Los Angeles, 9-4, at
Chavez
<< Feliz lifts Giants over Diamondbacks
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pedro Feliz drove in the winning run in
the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 win
over the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park.
Nate Schierholtz notched the other RBI
<< Tigers' Jurrjens comes off DL
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers activated pitcher
Jair Jurrjens from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
Jurrjens allowed one run and three hits, walked one and fanned a batter over
five innings in the start as
Canada drops opener against Norway >>
Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ane Stangeland Horpestad scored in the 81st
minute to help Norway complete a 2-1 comeback win over Canada in the Group C
opener for both teams on Wednesday.
Candace-Marie Chapman scored the opening goa
Gonzalez, Baghdatis reach Beijing QFs >>
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open runner-up Fernando
Gonzalez and last year's Beijing champion Marcos Baghdatis were among
Wednesday's second-round winners at the $500,000 China Open.
The second-seeded Gon
Hantuchova lands in Bali quarters >>
Bali, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Slovakian Daniela
Hantuchova highlighted Wednesday's second-round winners at the $225,000
Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
Hantuchova handled Dutch wild card Elise Tam
Around the FCS - UNI, SIU Play Role of Avengers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois were
taking a trip down Retribution Drive on Saturday after scoring big victories
over Iowa State and Northern Illinois.
It wasn't enough that UNI and SIU won games agai
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.
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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