Anelka confirms international retirement
Soccer Betting Lines
09/06/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France striker Nicolas Anelka confirmed his retirement from international soccer on Monday having been given an 18-match suspension by the French Football Federation for his conduct at this past summer's World Cup.
The 31-year-old Anelka was sent home early by former manager Raymond Domenech after the two exchanged words at halftime of France's 2-0 defeat to Mexico.
The remaining players refused to train in protest of the move, and key members of the team like Patrice Evra, Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan were handed short suspensions by the Federation for their role in the debacle.
But Anelka's 18-game ban was far greater of a punishment, and he reiterated his desire to never play for France again on Monday.
"I have retired officially. I am 100 percent sure that I will not return," Anelka told France Soir. "There was no chance that I would return to the national team after what happened on June 19 in Knysna.
"If members had read the newspaper, they would have realized that I have turned a page. Anyway, I already play in Blue every weekend with Chelsea."
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato remained No. 1 in the world rankings for women's golf for the third week in a row. Miyazato grabbed the No. 1 ranking from Cristie Kerr following a win on August 22, her third victory on th
<< Kuyt sidelined by shoulder injury
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands striker Dirk Kuyt is
expected to miss the next few weeks after he suffered a shoulder injury in
training, Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk confirmed on Monday.
Kuyt sustained the
<< Rockies reinstate Daley from DL
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies reinstated pitcher Matt
Daley from the 60-day disabled list on Monday.
Daley had been on the DL since June 16, retroactive to June 11, with right
shoulder inflammation. He was transf
<< Presley, Williams, Cushingberry, Bauman capture FCS weekly awards
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State quarterback DeAndre
Presley, Gardner-Webb linebacker Jeffery Williams, Southern special teams
performer Corey Cushingberry and Northern Arizona running back Zach Bauman
have been named The S
<< Dolphins sign veteran LB Carpenter
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have signed linebacker
Bobby Carpenter to an undisclosed contract.
The former number one draft choice had spent the 2010 training camp with the
St. Louis Rams after being acquired
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - USA 121, Angola 66 Russia 31, New Zealand 27 - Halftime
Marlins P Mendez leaves debut with injury >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins pitcher Adalberto Mendez
left Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies with a right quad
strain.
Mendez, who pitched six shutout innings, singled in the seventh, but came
A's demote P Mazzaro >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have optioned pitcher
Vin Mazzaro to Triple-A Sacramento.
The right-hander was 6-8 with a 4.29 earned run average in 21 games (18
starts) with Oakland this year.
Mazzaro had
Seahawks sign DE Brock >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive end
Raheem Brock, according to his agent's Twitter account.
Brock was cut by the Titans in training camp this year after spending eight
seasons with the Colts. I
Ravens add WR Houshmandzadeh >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens added depth to the
wide receiver position by agreeing to contract terms with T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
A report from NFL Network says the deal is thought to be for one year and
$855
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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.
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