Johnson continues to make his case for England inclusion

Soccer Betting Lines

05/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Johnson only has to look as far as his Manchester City teammate, Shaun Wright-Phillips, to see how things could have turned out.

Wright-Phillips enjoyed six strong seasons at Eastlands as a City player, and his performances were so good that deep-pocketed Chelsea came calling in 2005 and lured him to London.

The winger appeared to be on course for inclusion in England's 2006 World Cup team, but he was a fringe player at a huge club like Chelsea and was left off the plane to Germany.

The 28-year-old has since returned to City and seen his England hopes improve, but it is another City winger, Johnson, who has done the most to secure himself a spot in Fabio Capello's England squad.

Johnson started this season at Championship side Middlesbrough, and he quickly established himself as one of the top players in the league with 11 goals in 25 appearances.

This put him on the radar of Capello, but he was also being watched closely by the City brass, who paid around $12 million to secure his services right before the close of the January transfer window.

Johnson's contract was up at the end of the season, but City obviously saw something that it liked in order to shell out that kind of money when the club could have signed him for nothing over the summer.

At first, it appeared that Johnson could be headed for a similar fate as Wright-Phillips, a young talent who was joining a huge club filled with established players.

After all, City already had plenty of scoring options with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez and Wright-Phillips, not to mention Robinho, who was in the process of sulking his way back to Brazil after being signed for a British record $50 million from Real Madrid.

It was fair to question how much time Johnson would actually see, especially since City boss Roberto Mancini had reportedly never seen him play in person.

But Mancini became a believer very quickly once Johnson stepped onto the field.

The 22-year-old made his debut for the club as a substitute against Hull City, and he performed so well that Mancini handed him a start in City's next game three days later against Bolton.

Since then, Johnson has started 12 of City's last 13 games, chipping in a goal and four assists and playing a key role in the club's march towards a top-four finish.

He has also made City fans forget about the disaster that was the Robinho signing. But it is another player who Johnson aspires to evoke.

Ryan Giggs has been a consummate professional throughout his distinguished career, and as a left-footed winger like Johnson, it is easy to see why Mancini has compared him to the Manchester United great.

"Definitely Giggs, without a doubt," Johnson told the Telegraph when asked about who he models himself after. "Anyone who has watched football for the past 10 years would know he's probably been the best player in England.

"When I was growing up he was my hero. I had all the videos. He's been a lot of wingers' heroes over the years, I'd think, and for the manager to say that... it's an honor to be likened to someone like that."

It is still early, but there are aspects of Johnson's game that clearly mirror that of Giggs.

Like Giggs, Johnson has a very smooth game that allows him to glide past defenders without the benefit of having blazing speed.

He is very calm and composed on the ball and always seems to make the right decision in the attacking third.

A perfect example came just this past Saturday against Aston Villa, a game that City needed to win to keep its top-four hopes alive.

With his team trailing 1-0 late in the first half, Johnson coasted into the penalty area on the right and drew a penalty kick on Villa's Stephen Warnock, setting up the equalizer.

Just a few minutes later, with the game still tied, he set up the go-ahead goal with a patient pass that was right out of the Giggs playbook.

Johnson took a pass on the wing and got himself into the penalty area in a position where most players would have a shot on goal. But instead, he cut the ball back to buy himself some time and slipped a pass through traffic to Adebayor in front of goal for a first-time finish.

It was a vital win for the club, and yet another example of why Johnson clearly belongs in the mix for a spot on the England team.

There are some major questions regarding who will take up a spot on the wing for Capello's side, but with David Beckham out due to an Achilles injury, at least one more place has opened up.

Players like James Milner, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young each have strong cases, while Tottenham's Aaron Lennon has battled injuries, Arsenal's Theo Walcott is not a regular in Arsene Wenger's lineup, and Joe Cole has had injury issues as well for Chelsea.

Although he has yet to be capped for England, Johnson would bring a different dynamic to the mix as a left-footed winger, and it is possible that Capello will give him a chance in May with England set to play friendlies against Mexico and Japan.

Johnson was not on Capello's provisional 30-man group for England's friendly last month against Egypt, but it is harder to ignore him with each passing week.

England fans have wondered for years what it would have been like had Giggs played for the Three Lions instead of Wales.

In Johnson, they may get to see the next closest thing.

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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.

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.