Chicago 'Fire'd up for Revs

Soccer Betting Lines

04/07/2007 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution and the Chicago Fire have a bit of a history, especially recent history. Last season, the Revolution knocked the Fire out of the playoffs in a penalty kick shootout in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference semifinals.

Now, to open their 2007 MLS regular season, Chicago has a chance for a little revenge as it hosts New England at 8:30 p.m. at Toyota Park Saturday night. It will be the 28th meeting between the two teams with New England holding the advantage, 12 wins to 10.

"First and foremost, our minds are to really get a good start to the season, it really doesn't matter who we play in the opening game," Fire head coach Dave Sarachan said. "Our guys are really chomping at the bit to get the season underway. Obviously playing New England in the first game adds a little bit to it.

"You know we don't really like one another as teams so there is a real rivalry that has been created and our guys certainly remember the last team they faced last season. It is not really something we talked about. I wouldn't say that it is going to be that much of an added motivation but clearly the level of concentration will be up knowing it is against the team that knocked us out of the playoffs," Sarachan added.

Chicago is also excited to be opening its season at home after starting 2006 on the road for the first two-plus months of the season while its new soccer specific stadium, Toyota Park, was being completed.

"Last year was really a unique year as we were on the road for 2 1/2 months to start, so having a game right off the bat is exciting for us," Sarachan said. "(The temperature) is supposed to be in the high 20s (Saturday) night and I am hoping that won't deter too many from coming to the game but I anticipate a good showing. It doesn't matter in terms of numbers, the quality of the fans here is so great so whatever the numbers should be, we are going to have a real exciting building (Saturday) night."

Fire faithful are also on a bit of a high after the team filled its designated player slot this past week with Mexican legend Cuauhtemoc Blanco who is expected to join the team on July 1.

Until Blanco joins the squad, Chicago is hoping to get some offense from young players like Justin Mapp, Chris Rolfe, Chad Barrett and Brazilian Thiago. That should be no easy task this week with Matt Reis - one of the better goalkeepers in MLS - in the opposing net.

"We think we have the firepower that can get goals for us," Sarachan said. "It is like the old joke that famous Yankee player said, 'Hit it where they ain't.' Shoot it where he can't get it is one way to look at it. If our guys get good looks at goal, obviously it is going to take a great shot to beat Matt Reis so we have to be patient to finish those opportunities. He is capable of big saves so hopefully we can really pick our spots and keep a good amount of possession and when we do take strikes at goal, we have to make sure they are good enough to beat a good goalie like Reis."

Up top, the Fire will look to shut down the New England offensive attack by limiting the chances of former MLS MVP Taylor Twellman and company.

"Clearly it all revolves around Taylor," Sarachan said. "He is a guy who is arguably as good a target guy as there is in this league. In the history of our games, he finds space and finds a way to get chances at goal and if we can minimize that to zero that gives us a much better opportunity to keep a clean sheet. They rely on a lot of service and if we can take away that strength and deal with guys like Taylor it gives us a real opportunity to keep them off the board."

Longtime captain Chris Armas and fellow midfielder Diego Gutierrez will team up with defenders CJ Brown, Jim Curtin, Logan Pause and Osei Telesford to try and shut down the New England attack.

"We obviously want to get off on the right foot and make it an entertaining game in game one and our attacking players are responsible for that," Sarachan said. "We just hope that at the end of the day our number is higher than their number on the scoresheet."

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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