"Disappointed" North Korea ready for Nigeria

Soccer Betting Lines

09/13/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Korea, a bit of a mystery entering the World Cup, has stepped into the spotlight following its surprising tie against the United States.

But the players for North Korea, which is ranked fifth in the world, were not satisfied following the 2-2 draw against the favored Americans on Tuesday.

"I believe we should have beaten the Americans judging by the way we played. We were a little bit disappointed that we could not start the tournament with three points," North Korea captain Ri Kum Suk told FIFA's website.

Although North Korea played extremely well in the draw, it scored both of its goals when the United States was playing with 10 players because of an injury to star forward Abby Wambach.

For North Korea to erase any doubt about its status as a contender following the solid effort against the top-ranked team in the world, it needs to post a victory against Nigeria on Friday in the teams second game in Group B.

"We must reach the second round, and with two games to go we have a very good chance. The first thing we need to do is beat Nigeria," Ri said.

North Korea, which won the Under-20 World Cup last year, featured a mixture of its trademark short, crisp passing and long shots to continuously pressure the United States from all over the field.

The team was bit lucky to score its first goal when Son Hui Kil's long blast went through the hands of U.S. goalie Hope Solo during a rainy opener. But the goal was also a result of the team's willingness to challenge the keeper from well outside the box.

Solo was forced to make a number of diving saves on long shots, including one in the final seconds that preserved the draw.

"If we can't walk the ball into the net, then we have to find another way to put it in," Ri said.

In a group featuring the United States, Sweden and North Korea, Nigeria was supposed to be the outsider.

But the African champions stunned Sweden on Tuesday with a 1-1 tie thanks to a late equalizer from 2006 FIFA Player of the Year nominee and reigning African Woman Footballer of the Year Cynthia Uwak.

"Sure, they are good, probably better than four years ago," Ri said, "But I know we can win."

Sweden probably thought the same thing. The Swedes, ranked third in the world and runners-up at the 2003 Cup, took the lead on Victoria Svensson's goal in the 50th minute and looked comfortable as the final whistle approached.

But Nigeria didn't quit and although it wasn't able to create a ton of shots, it found the only goal it needed in the 82nd minute when Uwak scored. It was just the fourth time in 14 Cup games Nigeria has earned at least one point.

So like North Korea, Nigeria gained a lot of confidence from its opener. That just makes Friday's game all the more intriguing, although once again Nigeria is the underdog.

"This is a great starting point, but now we want to improve with each match," Nigeria coach Effiom Ntiero told FIFA's website. "You have to get better all the time to win a tournament like this and that is what we will try to do."

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."

Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."

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

About www.MySportsbook.com
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