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07/04/2009 - Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday night.
Arturo Alvarez scored the game's first goal for San Jose before a Chris Leitch own goal in second-half stoppage-time was enough for the home side to earn a point.
Alvarez broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute, side-stepping past a number of defenders at the top of the RSL penalty area before depositing his fifth goal of the season into the back of the net with his left foot.
The 'Quakes were given some insurance in the 77th minute when RSL forward Fabian Espindola was ejected for retaliating after a hard tackle by Brandon McDonald.
But despite playing down a man, RSL pushed for the equalizer late.
Javier Morales started the chance by playing a long ball into the San Jose penalty area as the clock ticked down. Yura Movsisyan ran onto the ball, but defender Leitch toe poked it away from him. Unfortunately for the 'Quakes, the ball went past goalkeeper Joe Cannon and into his own net for the 1-1 draw.
The goal was the ninth in 15 games this season that RSL (5-6-5) has scored in the last 15 minutes. The draw also helped it extend its unbeaten run to five games.
The 'Quakes (3-8-4) missed a golden opportunity to earn three points, and are still stuck in the Western Conference basement after being forced to share the points.
San Jose will be back in league action when it hosts Toronto FC next Saturday, while RSL is at Columbus on July 18 in its next league fixture.
<< Rangers get just enough offense to top Rays
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock belted a two-run homer and
Tommy Hunter pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to collect his first win in the
majors on his 23rd birthday, as the Texas Rangers downed the Tampa Bay Rays,
3-1, in
<< Rockies blank Diamondbacks
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge De La Rosa blanked the Diamondbacks
through eight innings, and Joel Peralta and Huston Street finished off
Colorado's 5-0 shutout of its NL West rival.
De La Rosa (5-7) won his third straig
<< Moss and Vazquez lead Pirates over Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez hit early home
runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down Hanley Ramirez, on the way to a 7-4
win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.
Charlie Morton
<< Mariners squeak past Red Sox in 11
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles,
including a two-run double in the top of the 11th, to lift the Seattle
Mariners past the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in the opener of a
three-g
Kings acquire F Smyth in multi-player deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings boosted their offense
on Friday, acquiring All-Star forward Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche
in a three-player deal.
Smyth, 33, tied for the Avalanche lead in points last seas
Sadowski, Giants' offense destroy Astros >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support
while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a
13-0 whipping of the Astros.
Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunda
Roughriders hang on to top Lions in season opener >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darian Durant threw for 313 yards and had a
rushing touchdown to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 28-24 win over the
British Columbia Lions in the season opener for both clubs.
Durant went 18-for-32
Leaving a trail: Turkoglu snubs Portland, to sign with Raptors >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared
headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall
those talks apparently broke off.
In the latest turn of events, TNT basketball an
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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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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