Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/05/2009 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Cunningham scored a pair of first-half goals to lead FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday.
Cunningham scored his second goal of the season in the 15th minute to open the scoring, and then added another two minutes later before Juan Pablo Angel scored for New York right before halftime.
The result drops New York's (2-13-4) road record to 0-10-1 on the season, while their winless streak has now reached 10 games.
Dallas (4-7-5) is headed in the opposite direction as they have lost just once in eight games and taken seven points from their last three matches.
The Red Bulls handed Dallas the opening goal in the 15th minute when Luke Sassano's pass was intercepted by Cunningham near the penalty area. He then dribbled into the box and maneuvered past defender Andrew Boyens before firing the ball into the lower left corner.
It took only two minutes for Cunningham to add to his scoring total as he shook free from Jeremy Hall and got on the other end of a right-wing cross from Dave van den Bergh, knocking the ball past goalkeeper Danny Cepero.
New York was able to pull a goal back before the break when Jorge Rojas played a ball wide to Danleigh Borman and he picked out Angel in front of goal for an easy tap in, making it 2-1 at halftime.
Dallas threatened to extend its lead in the 68th minute when Eric Avila had a shot parried by Cepero, while one minute later, David Ferreira sent a shot skipping past the right post from 25 yards.
Cunningham thought he had completed his hat trick in the 80th minute when he fired home a rebound, but the flag went up, erasing the goal.
The call kept the visitors within a goal, and they nearly equalized in the 83rd minute when substitute John Wolyniec got into the area and fired a shot on goal, but Ray Burse preserved the win by parrying the shot.
<< Chicago moves to top of Eastern table with win at Colorado
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire moved into a tie with
D.C. United at the top of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference table with
a 2-1 win at the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.
First-half goals by Marco Pappa
<< Stewart wins in a firework finish at Daytona
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart won Saturday's Coke Zero 400
in a dramatic finish at Daytona International Speedway.
Stewart moved to the outside of leader Kyle Busch coming out of the final turn
of the last lap. Busch atte
<< USA cruises past Grenada in Gold Cup opener
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Rogers scored one goal and set up two
more as the United States opened its Gold Cup campaign with a comfortable 4-0
win over Grenada at Qwest Field.
Freddie Adu opened the scoring in the eighth minut
<< Price isn't right for Rays; Rangers score 12 in rout
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andruw Jones' three-run homer in the first
inning set the tone, as Texas went on to dismantle the Rays, 12-4, in the
middle installment of a three-game series.
Jones doubled in another run and Michael
Angels pour it on late against Baltimore >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero capped a six-run eighth
inning with a monster three-run homer, as Los Angeles overcame an early
deficit to wallop Baltimore, 11-4, in the third matchup of a four-game set at
Angel S
Eskandarian enjoys dream debut as L.A. downs New England >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alecko Eskandarian scored the lone goal of the
match on Saturday in his Los Angeles Galaxy debut as the club downed the New
England Revolution, 1-0 at The Home Depot Center.
Eskandarian was acquired on Wed
Yanks hope to stay hot against Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New York Yankees will try to continue their
strong play when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the third installment
of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium.
Brett Cecil will toe the rubber for the Blue Jays t
Cellar dwellers put the finishing touches on set in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will try to complete the three-game
sweep over the Oakland Athletics this afternoon when the two teams close their
series at Progressive Field.
Gio Gonzalez will head to the mound for the A's in searc
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting