Fire forward McBride to retire after season

Soccer Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride will retire at the end of the 2010 season, the Major League Soccer team announced on Friday.

"Brian's retirement is a bittersweet moment for the Fire, Major League Soccer and soccer fans around the world," Chicago Fire owner Andrew Hauptman said. "His talent and contributions to U.S. soccer in particular are incredibly vast and he will most deservedly be celebrated as one of this country's greatest. Brian is a consummate professional on-and off-the-field and has tremendous passion and heart. I have great respect for him and his decision to retire, which no doubt was not an easy one. He will always have a home here at the Chicago Fire and be part of the Fire family."

The 38-year-old McBride, who was the number one selection in the MLS's inaugural player draft in 1996, has appeared in 211 games, scoring 78 goals and adding 51 assists over the course of his 11-year MLS career with the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew.

In between stints with the Crew and Fire, McBride played four-and-a-half years with English Premier League club Fulham FC where he scored 40 goals in 153 appearances.

On top of his club career, McBride is one of the most decorated players in U.S. Soccer history, scoring 30 goals in 95 appearances for the U.S. men's national team from 1993-2006, including three appearances in the FIFA World Cup.

"Brian is one of the cornerstones of American soccer," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas said. "Since joining the Fire, and returning to Chicago, he has shown the characteristics that have made him a success on every level of soccer in this country. He is a consummate professional and embodies everything that is good in the game. His leadership, everlasting commitment and work ethic on the field are parallel to his impact off of it. We wish Brian and his family the best of luck as he takes this next step in life."

Wwwattheraces Soccer Betting News

<< Report: Broncos' LenDale White out for season
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos running back LenDale White is reportedly out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. The Denver Post cited an NFL source in its report on Friday. White was hurt during the second quarter

<< Jimenez shoots 61 for European Masters lead
Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five days after locking down his Ryder Cup spot, Miguel Angel Jimenez came close to locking down a piece of golf history. Jimenez flirted with a 59 Friday during the second round of the European

<< Morgan gets eight games, Volstad six after Nats/Marlins brawl
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan was suspended for eight games and Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad was given a six-game penalty for their roles in Wednesday's benches-clearing inciden

<< Maple Leafs' stock slowly rising
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is guarded optimism surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the 2010-11 NHL season, much of that due to the astute moves made this offseason by general manager Brian Burke. Through trade

<< Stosur, Dementieva first into U.S. Open fourth round
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Stosur of Australia and Russia's Elena Dementieva were third-round winners Friday at the U.S. Open. The fifth-seeded Stosur thumped Italy's Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-3, while the 12th- seeded Dement

Clijsters rolls into U.S. Open fourth round >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters was a third-round winner Friday at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded Belgian dropped the first three games of her match against 27th-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, but

Gaming: College Pigskin Prognostications >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After months of waiting, the 2010 college football season is ready to kick off its first barrage of Saturday games, and with that comes the unveiling of my inaugural Top 12, followed by each club's power r

Report: Lions' Suh fined for hit on Delhomme >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has reportedly been fined for his hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme. According to the Detroit Free Press, Suh, the second pick in April's d

Dallas aiming to extend unbeaten run with TFC coming to town >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas set a record last weekend after earning a scoreless draw at Columbus, going 10 straight Major League Soccer road fixtures without a loss. On Saturday, the Hoops (9-2-10), one of the league'

Phillies reinstate Gload from DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have reinstated outfielder/first baseman Ross Gload from the 15-day disabled list. Gload was placed on the DL with a right groin strain on August 21, retroactive to August 19. He

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.