Piszczek seals Dortmund switch

Soccer Betting Lines

05/19/2010 - Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Poland international Lukas Piszczek has moved from relegated Hertha Berlin to Borussia Dortmund.

The 24-year-old has signed a contract that will keep him in Dortmund for three seasons.

Head coach Juergen Klopp was keen to add to his attacking options after guiding Dortmund into next season's Europa League and had already signed Australian goalkeeper Mitch Langerak and Japanese forward Shinji Kagawa in readiness for the 2010-11 campaign.

Piszczek was called into the Poland squad for Euro 2008 when Jakub Blaszczykowski was forced to drop out because of a hamstring problem.

He made his national team debut against Estonia in February 2008 but his only appearance at Euro 2008 came as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Germany.

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Freeporm Soccer Betting News

<< Sallie to forego remaining eligibility
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis junior guard Roburt Sallie announced he will forego his remaining eligibility and will explore playing opportunities elsewhere. Sallie is due to graduate this summer. Even though he has a year of p

<< Mine That Bird to be trained by Hall of Fame member
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been named the new conditioner for 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Owners Leonard Blach and Mark Allen announced the decision on Wednesday. The move

<< Habs D Markov has knee surgery
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee. Markov, who suffered his injury during the first period of the o

<< Rays P Howell has season-ending surgery
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays reliever J.P. Howell will miss the entire season after having surgery on his left shoulder, the team announced on Wednesday. The operation was performed Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews in Birmi

<< Indians' Sizemore put on DL; Cabrera has surgery
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have placed center fielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list with a deep bone bruise on his left knee. The team also announced that infielder Asdrubal Cabrera underwent s

Gekas joins Eintracht on two-year deal >>
Frankfurt, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greece international Theofanis Gekas has completed his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to Eintracht Frankfurt. The 29-year-old striker has penned a two-year contract with Eintracht who finished 10th

Diamondbacks recall OF Parra, option Gillespie >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled outfielder Gerardo Parra from Triple-A Reno and sent outfielder Cole Gillespie to the same club on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Parra appeared in 26 games and hit .247

Oilers getting out of free agent market >>
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Kevin Lowe has a new master plan for taking the Edmonton Oilers back to the proud days of the franchise's past.It starts with the No. 1 pick in next month's draft, earned by having the NHL's worst record this season, and also inc

Tigers' Ordonez a late scratch against Oakland >>
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez has been scratched from the Tigers' lineup for Wednesday night's game at Oakland because of a sore right heel.Ordonez was listed third in Detroit's batting order in right field before being re

Pagan hits inside-the-park HR, starts triple play >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -Angel Pagan is having a most unusual evening, and that's a good thing for the New York Mets.Pagan hit the first inside-the-park home run in Nationals Park history, then started the Mets' first triple play since 2002.Pagan's homer in

MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!

Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter - All you have to do is play at least 10 hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host randomly hands out free bonuses ranging from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.

"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard 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.