Ziani doubles up on Nancy

Soccer Betting Lines

12/23/2006 - Montbeliard, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karim Ziani scored two second-half goals in a four-minute span to lift Sochaux to a 2-1 win over Nancy at Stade Bonal on Saturday.

The teams entered the contest separated by only one point, and it was the visitors who snatched the initiative. Sebastien Puygrenier put Nancy on top 1-0 in the 11th minute, but Ziani's four-minute blitz in the second half was enough to carry the day for the home side. Nancy was reduced to 10 men six minutes from time when Gaston Curbelo was shown a second yellow card, effectively stunting any comeback attempt by Nancy.

The win moves Sochaux into the top five heading into the new year, and in a great position to contend for a Champions League spot next season.

The Sochaux defense nearly coughed up a goal in the opening minutes as a miscommunication led to Nancy's Moncef Zerka taking possession of the ball in the Sochaux end and firing a shot from 18-yards out. Luckily for the hosts, the ball kissed the outside of the upright and sailed wide.

Nancy did move in front only a few minutes later on a well designed corner. Puygrenier got loose from his defender and nodded a well-placed cross past Teddy Richert to give his side a 1-0 advantage.

The goal seemed to spark the home side, as Sochaux took control of the match and nearly evened things before the break. Nancy keeper Gennaro Bracigliano did well to keep his team ahead as he turned away Julien Quercia's shot from close range with a sprawling stop.

Quercia was denied the equalizer again after the restart as he was sent through by Romain Pitau's pass. Quercia had the Bracigliano beaten, but his shot rattled off the crossbar and stayed out.

In the 61st minute, Sochaux found its much-deserved equalizer. A spot of brilliant individual skill from Alvaro Santos saw the striker beat two defenders and fire a shot on net. Bracigliano did well to stop it, but the rebound fell to Ziani, who slid it home to even things at 1-1.

Santos once again was the catalyst four mintes later, as another one of his dashing runs resulted in a penalty kick for Sochaux. He danced his way into the box and was brought down by Cedric Lecluse. Ziani then stepped to the spot and easily converted to put the home side ahead for good.

In other Ligue 1 action on Saturday, Lyon settled for a 0-0 draw with Monaco and Troyes and PSG also split the points in 1-1 fashion. Gerald Cid scored the lone goal for Bordeaux in their 1-0 win over Le Mans, Lille and Auxerre played to a 1-1 draw while both Lorient and Rennes took a point away from their 0-0 contest at Stade du Moustoir. Lens scored a pair of second-half goals to down Nice 2-1, Nantes blitzed Toulouse 4-0 and Valenciennes built an early two-goal lead before hanging on for a 2-1 win against Sedan.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

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"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

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.

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.