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06/28/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Muller made his international debut for Germany just three months ago, but the 20-year-old is already being compared to the country's most prolific striker. And it's not just because they share the same last name.
Gerd Muller, no relation to Thomas, retired from international soccer 36 years ago after scoring the winning goal in West Germany's 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup final.
Gerd's match-winner was the last of his 14 World Cup goals, a record broken by Brazil's Ronaldo in 2006, and he scored an incredible 68 career goals in just 62 international games.
Thomas certainly won't equal that record of averaging more than a goal a game, but through four FIFA World Cup matches in South Africa, Germany's new star has three goals and three assists.
Thomas evoked more comparisons to his namesake when he got the No. 13 jersey for the World Cup, after captain Michael Ballack was ruled out with an injury. Gerd had the same number in the 1970 and 1974 World Cups.
Thomas reminded English fans of the legendary Gerd on Sunday, when he scored a pair of goals and added an assist in a 4-1 win that sent Germany into the last eight.
Gerd scored the match-winner against England in overtime of the 1970 World Cup quarterfinals and Muller scored both of his goals in the second half Sunday.
Thomas became the youngest player to score two goals in a game in the round of 16 or later since Brazil's Pele scored twice in the 1958 World Cup final.
"It's unbelievable to think that he is still only 20 years old," Germany coach Joachim Loew said of his young star.
Thomas made just his third appearance for Germany when he opened the World Cup as a starter, and he rewarded Loew by assisting on the first goal of a 4-1 win over Australia. Muller added his first international goal in the second half.
Then, in a must-win match against Ghana in the last game of group play, Muller assisted on Mesut Ozil's game-winner in the 60th minute of a 1-0 win.
He began his performance against England with another assist to Podolski, then finished two counter attacks in the second half.
On the first goal, Muller played a long outlet to start the break, and Bastian Schweinsteiger later returned the pass for Thomas to convert at the near post.
Minutes later, the phenom made an 80-yard sprint to offer an option for Ozil, then buried his second goal with a relatively easy finish from inside the area.
"Thomas has a lot of quality and is fantastic in front of goal," Loew said.
Germany has filtered a lot of play through Muller, and with the results he can produce, it is easy to understand why. In addition to being deadly in front of goal, he differentiates himself from other strikers with his wing play.
Mature as a player and person, Muller is focused on Saturday's quarterfinal match with Argentina, against whom he debuted in a friendly a few months ago. He knows what he's done so far is irrelevant in respect to the upcoming match, and believes Germany can continue its run in the tournament.
"Everything is possible now. We can beat anyone if we play to the best of our ability," he said. "We are focused on our goal at this tournament and I have left some space in my trophy cabinet at home."
Even if it doesn't include a World Cup winners' medal, it could very well have the tournament's Best Young Player Award in it in a few weeks.
And with a shot at playing in at least two more World Cups, Thomas could stand alongside Gerd as an equal before his career is over.
<< Portugal, Spain clash in round of 16
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal escaped the group stage of
the FIFA World Cup without allowing a goal, including a 0-0 tie against Brazil
in the final match of the round.
Portugal was rewarded with a round of 16 match aga
<< Sky Blue FC knocks off Gold Pride
Hayward, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sky Blue FC recorded a surprising 2-0 win over
FC Gold Pride on Sunday in Women's Professional Soccer action at Pioneer
Stadium with second-half goals from Rosana and Tasha Kai.
Rosana put her side up in
<< Oranje slice through Slovakia, into quarterfinals
Durban, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Netherlands won for the fourth
time in as many games at the FIFA World Cup on Monday as it recorded a 2-1
win over Slovakia in a round of 16 match at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Arjen Robben ope
<< Big names take to tracks for workouts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Some of the biggest names in thoroughbred
racing took to various racetracks for workouts over the last two days. Many of
the horses are expected to see action during the summer.
Undefeated champion mare Z
Canadiens sign a pair >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens signed forwards Benoit
Pouliot and Tom Pyatt to one-year contracts on Monday.
Pouliot, 23, registered 15 goals and nine assists in 39 games with Montreal
after being acquired from Mi
Osasuna signs Serbia striker Lekic >>
Pamplona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia international Dejan Lekic has
completed his transfer from Red Star Belgrade to Osasuna.
The striker moves to Spain for a reported transfer fee of $3.2 million after
impressing Osasuna boss J
Bosh all but gone from Toronto >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With July 1 fast approaching, the much-
anticipated NBA free-agency period is set to begin. The reality, which should
have long been apparent for the Toronto Raptors and their fans, is that the
organization
Watson soars 31 places in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bubba Watson earned his first PGA Tour win
on Sunday at the Travelers Championship and climbed 31 places to No. 45 in the
world rankings.
Ahead of Watson there was little movement among the top 20.
Tige
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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