10/14/2008 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston suffered a broken right fibula on Saturday against the Kansas City Wizards and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Ralston is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks, and the MLS Cup final is less than six weeks away. New England, which has already clinched a playoff berth, has lost the last three MLS Cup finals.
"Now we know he's going to be out ... so we need to sort out what we're going to do from here on. A lot of what we do goes through him so we're going to have to adapt to that," New England defender Jay Heaps said.
He suffered the injury in the 12th minute when Wizards midfielder Herculez Gomez clipped Ralston from behind near the center of the field. Ralston fell forward and then left the field immediately.
Ralston's lower leg was put in a splint on the sideline and he was helped off the field before going to Providence Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., where the injury was confirmed.
Ralston leads New England in goals (eight) and assists (seven) this season. He had played in 21 of the Revs' matches, including 20 starts.
New England has two matches remaining in the regular season, at D.C. United on Thursday and at home against Kansas City on Oct. 25.
<< Hamburg's Jansen could miss six weeks
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg will be without fullback Marcell
Jansen for up to six weeks with a thigh strain picked up while on international
duty.
Jansen was injured in training during the build-up to Germany's World
<< CFB: Mid-Week Success
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Most college football aficionados pay
attention to their favorite sport just one day per week, as there are
approximately 50 games each Saturday to wager on from morning until night.
With all that action
<< Inverness captain Munro signs two-year extension
Iverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inverness captain Grant Munro has penned
a two-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2011.
The 28-year-old defender was out of contract at the end of the current season
and had been lo
<< Hang this loss on Joe Torre
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I have gone out of my way to defend Joe Torre in this space
the last couple of years. I could never understand why some people, especially
Yankee fans, would say that those four World Series championships and 12
straight play
Gerrard determined to shine for England >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gerrard has vowed to rediscover his
club form when playing for England after admitting he hasn't always performed
to his best at international level.
The Liverpool captain received criticism for
Blue Jays' Beeston returns as CEO >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime Toronto Blue Jays executive Paul
Beeston has returned to his old title of CEO on an interim basis.
The Blue Jays announced on Tuesday that Beeston, who was the first employee
hired by the ex
Report: Cowboys' Jones suspended indefinitely >>
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones has
reportedly been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for an altercation with a
personal security guard at a Dallas hotel last week.
According to ESPN on Tuesday,
Ballack doubtful for match against Wales >>
Monchengladbach, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - German captain Michael Ballack is
doubtful for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Wales after picking up a
thigh injury in Saturday's 2-1 win over Russia.
Ballack, 32, missed Monday's trai
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.
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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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