Arsenal's Fabregas charged for spitting incident

Soccer Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been charged with two counts of improper conduct following the spitting storm which overshadowed last month's FA Cup clash with Hull City.

Fabregas was not part of the Gunners side which won a quarterfinal encounter 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on March 17.

However, his conduct after the final whistle when he entered the field of play and was alleged by the Hull management team to have spat in their direction, led to an investigation by the Football Association.

Tigers boss Phil Brown claimed the Spain midfielder spat at his number two, Brian Horton, and called on the FA to take action.

Brown has also been charged with improper conduct following comments he made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley.

"Fabregas faces two charges of improper conduct relating to his conduct on the pitch following the game," confirmed an FA statement. "One charge concerns his behaviour in coming onto the pitch after the final whistle, the second charge relates to an alleged spitting incident. The charges are based on submissions from Hull City and video evidence.

"Brown is charged with improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute in relation to media comments made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley. Fabregas and Brown have until May 12 to respond."

Meanwhile, a bemused Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has revealed his surprise that his skipper is facing any disciplinary action over the incident.

Fabregas could face a domestic ban if found guilty of the improper conduct charges.

"I personally looked at the reports, at the video evidence and there is nothing in there against Cesc," claimed Wenger. "I don't know if we will appeal. I will see what we can do about that.

"At the start, I am not a great fan of appealing because I said we are very open to co-operate and now I don't think we should stop that. I am very positive that there was enough evidence in what I have seen that the case should have been dropped."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Wmozilla Soccer Betting News

<< Chelsea's Carvalho to miss Barca match
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho will miss next week's Champions League semifinal first-leg clash with Barcelona through injury. The Portugal international suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury

<< Phils head to Florida for key divisional set
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins have been cooled off since their hot start to the season and will try to catch fire again in Friday's opener of a three-game home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Florida was just swept in thre

<< Red-hot Cardinals ready to renew rivalry with Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An old-fashioned rivalry resumes this evening between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, as the NL Central rivals kick off a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Chicago recently won two of three games against St. Lo

<< Astros, Brewers to begin NL Central clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bottom-feeders in the NL Central Division get together this evening in Houston, where the Astros will entertain the rival Milwaukee Brewers for the first of three straight games at Minute Maid Park. Milwaukee enters Friday

<< Tribe to open home series with struggling Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona likely won't receive the same kind of run support he enjoyed his last time out, but still hopes to build upon his first win of the season when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Minnesota T

Real, Barca face road tests before El Clasico >>
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid is unbeaten in 16 straight games including an incredible 15 victories, since losing to Barcelona in December but still trails the once runaway leaders by six points with six matches left. With g

Chiefs sign C Niswanger, TE Curtis >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs announced that restricted free agent center Rudy Niswanger signed his tender offer and also announced the signing of free agent tight end Tony Curtis. Niswanger has played i

Red Bulls switch focus to D.C. United >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York played great defense for 87 minutes in Thursday's loss to Kansas City, but a third-minute goal off a penalty kick - which came after the ejection of Carlos Johnson - spoiled a good effo

Juve denies coach reports >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus has denied reports which suggested they had earmarked AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti as a potential summer replacement for Claudio Ranieri. Several newspapers in Italy claimed Juve offi

Hammers continue quest for place in Europe >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham is one of five teams that can make a legitimate case for grabbing a spot in Europe by finishing in seventh place, and with such a close group of teams in the middle of the table, the final five ga

Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

How to bet pro football

There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.

These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.

Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.

Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.

Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.

Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.

The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?

To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.

Home vs. Away Teams

Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.

Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.

Price ranges

Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.

The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.

Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.

Playoff teams

It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.

Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.

This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.

Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.

Scoring defense and scoring offense

Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.

Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.

There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.

The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.

Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.

Scoring margin

An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.

In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.

Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.

In sum

Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.

The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.