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06/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serving as manager of a national team is a pretty thankless job, especially if you are leading one of the premier soccer powers in the world.
Every single game is scrutinized relentlessly, every decision is questioned and if you fail to produce the expected results - which are usually unrealistic - you won't have your job for long.
So when a manager selects his 23-man roster for a World Cup he is already bracing for the backlash of leaving a popular player off the team or failing to take an emerging young star because of a lack of experience.
Some managers simply have an overabundance of talent to choose from and will undoubtedly be wrong no matter who they choose.
With that in mind, here is a list of players who belong on their respective rosters. Let the second-guessing begin.
RONALDINHO AND PATO (BRAZIL):
As a player, Brazil manager Dunga was always more substance than style, and it appears that he is applying the same logic to his current squad. Brazil is not as flashy as it once was, but the results have been there. However, by leaving Ronaldinho off the team he is depriving the world of a player who is still capable of producing moments of magic.
He is not quite the same player who captured two consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year awards, but after a solid season at AC Milan the 30-year-old Ronaldinho belongs in the midfield alongside former teammate Kaka.
Without Ronaldinho, Kaka will likely share the middle of the field with Elano, a good player on set pieces who works hard but can't match the pure ability of the man who has owned the number 10 shirt in recent years.
Having played in two World Cups during his career, it is possible that this Brazilian magician has graced the world's stage for the final time as he will be 34 when the tournament is next played in his home country in 2014.
Pato will no doubt find his way into the World Cup team in future years, but the 20-year-old striker is missing out on a valuable experience that can only help him down the line.
He netted 12 goals in 23 games for Milan this past season, and while fellow strikers Luis Fabiano, Robinho and Nilmar are certainly deserving of their place, Pato surely could have taken the spot of 31-year-old Grafite, who has made just a few appearances for Brazil.
JAVIER ZANETTI AND ESTEBAN CAMBIASSO (ARGENTINA):
It is hard to question what Diego Maradona did on the field as Argentina's greatest-ever player, but by leaving this duo off his World Cup team, he has opened himself up for some second-guessing in his manager's role.
Argentina is blessed with an abundance of attacking talent, but their biggest question mark is in defense, where both Zanetti and Cambiasso would have provided a big lift.
Both players were instrumental in helping Inter Milan to a historic treble this past season, and both bring a wealth of experience to a team that is relatively young in certain areas.
Zanetti is Argentina's most-capped player of all time and would have provided stability to a shaky back line, while Cambiasso could have paired with captain Javier Mascherano in midfield to provide cover on an offense- heavy squad.
FRANCESCO TOTTI (ITALY):
After announcing his retirement from the international game in 2007 Totti had a change of heart about a year later and made himself available to manager Marcello Lippi for national team selection.
However, Lippi has remained loyal to the strikers who helped navigate Italy through the qualification process, players like Alberto Gilardino, Antonio Di Natale and Vincenzo Iaquinta.
All three are good players, but none has the experience of Totti, who has played in two World Cups and made 58 appearances for the Azzurri.
He has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, but after a season that saw him net 14 goals in 23 games for a Roma side that finished second in Serie A, Totti's presence would make a relatively tame Italy attack look a little more threatening.
KARIM BENZEMA (FRANCE):
Following his big-money transfer to Real Madrid from Lyon, Benzema struggled to find regular playing time during a frustrating first season at the Bernabeu.
He started 14 games and made 13 substitute appearances while scoring eight times, but more was expected of one of the hottest young properties in Europe.
France has good options at striker in Nicolas Anelka and the experienced Thierry Henry, but the 22-year-old Benzema could certainly have found his way onto the team ahead of the enigmatic Djibril Cisse.
Cisse has barely been in the national team picture in the past few years, but after a big season in Greece with Panathinaikos, manager Raymond Domenech has decided to bring him back into the fold.
Benzema failed to impress during a disappointing Euro 2008 tournament as a 20- year-old, but instead of taking a player like Cisse who is often injured and inconsistent, Benzema would have been a nice option off the bench while gaining valuable experience.
THEO WALCOTT (ENGLAND):
It is difficult to come down too hard on England manager Fabio Capello for leaving the Arsenal youngster off his team because there are so many good options at Walcott's position.
Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon, James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips each have a good case for inclusion, but Walcott would have given Capello a player with blistering pace out wide who has shown an ability to score goals.
Walcott received a surprise call-up to England's 2006 World Cup team as a 17- year-old under former manager Steve McClaren, although injuries and a lack of consistent playing time at Arsenal hurt his chances of making this year's squad.
He scored a stunning hat trick against Croatia in World Cup qualifying, but two subpar performances in recent friendlies appear to have persuaded Capello to pass on the speedy winger.
BENNI McCARTHY (SOUTH AFRICA):
There is no denying the fact that McCarthy is well past his prime, but after all he has done for South Africa over the years he at least deserves to be on the team with the World Cup being played in his native land.
McCarthy saw limited time at West Ham this past season due to injuries and many have questioned his commitment to South Africa, pointing to the fact that he is out of shape.
But despite his poor form this past year, he is South Africa's all-time leading scorer with 32 goals and deserves one last chance in the national team spotlight.
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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