Revs host Houston in battle of downtrodden clubs

Soccer Betting Lines

08/13/2010 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Major League Soccer clubs that normally are in the thick of the title race square off on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in desperate need of points.

The Houston Dynamo are winless since May 22 and sit second-from-the-bottom in the Western Conference table, while the New England Revolution sit third-from- the-bottom in the East.

The Dynamo are coming off an embarrassing effort in a 2-0 loss at Seattle Sounders FC this past weekend.

"After we conceded the goal, it didn't seem like we had that go to try and get it back, and that really frustrates us," Houston defender Andrew Hainault told mlssoccer.com. "You have to learn from it, get past it, and you have to look at the next game."

The Dynamo (5-9-5) have been struggling all season, and with the season almost two-thirds over, time is running short to get things turned around.

"Games are running out for us to pick up points," Hainault said. "We can't worry too much or be nervous about it. We have to stick together and put our heads down and work. If we do that, relax, and play our game, we can pick up points anywhere."

While New England (5-9-3) has a similar record to Houston, it has been showing signs of snapping out of its season-long slump recently.

The Revs are currently on a three-game unbeaten stretch, with a 1-0 win vs. D.C. United last weekend capping off the current run.

"Truth be told, we didn't play well, we didn't pass the ball well," New England coach Steve Nicol said after the win. "But at the same time, the game we had midweek [a 1-1 draw at Philadelphia], I think really took its toll on us. We really didn't have much in the legs, and obviously with Kevin [Alston] and Marko [Perovic] were missing. I think the biggest thing was we didn't have any legs. And consequently, we didn't pass it well and we didn't play well, but what we did do was we stuck at it and we got a goal."

New England will still be without a number of players due to injury, with forwards Kheli Dube, Edgaras Jankauskas and Taylor Twellman all out, defender Alston, forward Zak Boggs, and midfielders Nico Colaluca and Perovic questionable.

Houston will be without starting goalkeeper Pat Onstad, defender Adrian Serioux and midfielder Brad Davis. Defender Ryan Cochrane is also listed as doubtful for the game.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.