Argentina, Germany ready to move war onto the pitch
Soccer Betting Lines
07/02/2010 - Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina and Germany reignited a dormant rivalry four years ago in a World Cup quarterfinal that ended with a melee, and they meet again in the final eight Saturday at Green Point Stadium in what promises to be yet another memorable clash.
Argentina and Germany played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals, with each winning once. Four years ago, Germany forced extra time on an 80th-minute goal from Miroslav Klose and won on penalty kicks.
Following the game, the teams exchanged punches and kicks in a scrum Germany's players have not forgotten. Fuel was added to the fire after a friendly match in March, when Argentina manager Diego Maradona mistook Germany player Thomas Muller for a ballboy at the post-match press conference.
Now, in the build-up to Saturday's match, a war of words has ensued as Germans Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm have each questioned Argentina's lack of respect.
Maradona, who played for Argentina in 1986 and 1990, fired back in front of a Fox Sports camera by asking, in his best German accent, if Schweinsteiger was "nervous."
Germany and Argentina didn't need to add anymore attention to a game featuring teams with a combined five World Cup titles, but the latest news has made the quarterfinal as highly-anticipated as any of the four in South Africa.
"There is no fear from us," Schweinsteiger said. "We are confident."
Germany opened the World Cup with an impressive 4-0 win over Australia but the young team, which averages just 25 years of age, dropped a 1-0 match to Serbia.
Since, the dynamic German side has returned to form with a 1-0 win over Ghana, and a 4-1 victory over England in the round of 16. Muller assisted on Mesut Ozil's goal against Ghana, then had two goals and an assist against England.
"Now anything is possible, even if there is a tough nut waiting for us in the next round," said Muller, who also jumped into the war of words this week. The 20-year-old, a threat for Best Young Player, said he will make sure Maradona remembers him after this match.
German veteran Klose stayed out of the discussion this week and said after the win over England the team still has work to do to reach its goal.
"We have always said our goal is the semifinals at least," said Klose, who has played in the last two World Cups when Germany finished second and third.
Argentina cruised through its group with wins over Nigeria, South Korea and Greece by combined scores of 7-1. Argentina then used a pair of goals from Carlos Tevez to defeat Mexico, 3-1, in the round of 16.
Although Argentina has played well in the tournament, Tevez realizes beating Germany "won't be easy."
Nicolas Burdisso is among the Argentina players still around from four years ago, but overlooked the melee in favor of concentrating on a different result.
"The great thing is that the team is improving with every match, and for those of us who were at the last World Cup," Burdisso said, "the Germany match will be a nice opportunity for revenge."
Argentina has not won the World Cup since 1986, when it edged Germany, 3-2. The Germans have not won since 1990, when it won 1-0. So both countries have a lot on the line.
"We're all working hard to achieve something that our country hasn't done for a long time," Argentina goalie Sergio Romero said.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
Sports Betting Parlays
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.Betting Teasers
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.