06/12/2007 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dewayne De Rosario scored two goals as Canada defeated Haiti, 2-0, on Monday night to secure first place in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and advance to the quarterfinals.
De Rosario, who plays for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer, scored in the 30th and 35th minutes. His second goal was on a penalty kick.
Goalie Pat Onstad, who also plays for the Dynamo, earned the shutout win for Canada.
Canada was the only team to win two games in Group A. Canada also defeated Costa Rica, 2-1, in its first game of the tournament. Canada will play the second-place team from Group B on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
In Monday's other Group A game, Walter Centeno scored in the 13th minute as Costa Rica defeated Guadeloupe, 1-0, to finish second in the group and advance to the quarterfinals.
Costa Rica will play the second-place team from Group C on Sunday at 6 p.m. Guadeloupe could still earn one of the two third-place quarterfinal berths, but must wait for groups B and C to finish to find out if it advanced.
<< A-Rod still leads AL All-Star voting
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez
continues to lead all players in voting for the upcoming All-Star Game.
Rodriguez has garnered 1,404,001 votes. The next closest third baseman is
Boston's Mi
<< Wizards improved play paying dividends
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What a difference a year makes.
Major League Soccer's Kansas City Wizards missed the playoffs for the second
consecutive season in 2006, losing on the final day of the regular season to
New York, 3-2.
<< When it comes to the Cubs, there's never a dull moment
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a rather volatile June so far for the Chicago
Cubs, to say the least.
The team literally rang in the month with a bang, as ace pitcher Carlos
Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett came to blows in the dugout after
<< Earnhardt Jr. to join Hendrick in 2008
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scheduled an 11 a.m.
(et) news conference on Wednesday, where he is expected to announce that he
will join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
Earnhardt decided to leave the racing te
D-Rays sign Witasick >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed pitcher
Jay Witasick on Tuesday.
Witasick went 1-0 with a 3.60 earned run average in 16 appearances this season
for Oakland before being released. In 12 seasons in the
U.S. rolls over El Salvador to win Group B >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeMarcus Beasley scored twice as the United
States Men's National Team finished a perfect run through the group stage of
the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-0 win over El Salvador on Tuesday.
Landon Donovan
Just Incredible: Verlander no-hits Brewers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Verlander etched his name in Tigers
history, throwing the team's first no-hitter in 23 years while striking out a
career-high 12 batters in Detroit's 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Verlander
Drew's sac fly boosts Boston over Rockies >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.D. Drew's eighth-inning sacrifice fly pushed
across the game-winning run, as Boston edged Colorado, 2-1, in the first
installment of a three-game interleague series at Fenway Park.
Tim Wakefield (6-7
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 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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting