Revs searching for league success against Union

Soccer Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England has won four straight games without allowing a goal, but just one of those matches was in Major League Soccer. The Revolution hope to build on their SuperLiga success in league play Saturday at PPL Park against the expansion Philadelphia Union.

New England won all three of its SuperLiga group games, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals. But in MLS, the Revolution (4-9-2) are even with the Union (4-8-2) in the Eastern Conference with just 14 points halfway through the season.

The Revs last played an MLS game on July 10 against the Los Angeles Galaxy and posted their most impressive win of the season, 2-0, over the league's overall leader.

New England had won just one of its previous 11 MLS matches before the victory over L.A., and were shutout seven times during that stretch. New England's win over the Galaxy was just its third shutout of the season, but it sparked a run in SuperLiga play.

Central defender Darrius Barnes returned from a right foot injury against L.A. and has played a major role in the team's turnaround. Barnes was paired in the middle with Emmanuel Osei, and veteran goalie Matt Reis posted his first clean sheet of the season against L.A.

Following the L.A. win, New England topped Mexico's Pumas and Morelia, and the Chicago Fire, in SuperLiga group play with those three anchoring the team.

"The main thing - just organization and keeping our shape. If we get everybody in the right shape and everybody in the right spots," Barnes said on the Revs' website, "we're going to be successful.

"We have something good going on right now. We're playing well, we've put a little winning streak together, and hopefully we can continue to build on that."

New England will have to find a way to win on the road to continue its streak, as it has lost six of its seven road matches in MLS.

Philadelphia has built its success at home, earning 10 of its 14 points at PPL Park or Lincoln Financial Field. The Union won their last game against Toronto FC on July 17, and traded for midfielder Justin Mapp from Chicago this week.

Mapp, a 25-year-old with nine years of MLS experience, will add another cog to the young Union, who have just one loss in their last four matches. Sebastien Le Toux, who has a team-high seven goals, could benefit from Mapp's addition.

Le Toux started for the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday in a 5-2 loss to Manchester United. Mapp is a former MLS Best XI and has 36 career assists. Mapp admitted he was a little surprised by the trade, but is ready for a new challenge.

"It's a little bittersweet," Mapp said. "I'm excited to be here though, and very optimistic, so I'm looking forward to it."

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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.