Twellman's bicycle kick snuffs Fire

Soccer Betting Lines

11/08/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple days after the New England Revolution won their first trophy in franchise history, the U.S. Open Cup, Major League Soccer's 2007 Defender of the Year Michael Parkhurst said, "These opportunities don't come very much in the sport. We want to take advantage of these championship runs when they come along."

After a Taylor Twellman bicycle kick goal held up on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in the MLS Eastern Conference final, the Revs have a chance to take advantage of another championship run. This time for the MLS Cup after the team advanced to the league championship game for the third consecutive year.

Twellman scored the spectacular goal in the 38th minute after winger Wells Thompson crossed into the Chicago penalty area. Twellman headed the ball straight up in the air, turned and fired an overhead shot between defenders Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause and past goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the 1-0 lead.

The goal was Twellman's ninth in MLS playoff history to tie him with Brian McBride for seventh all-time. Twellman has tallied six goals in his last seven playoff games, including two in three games this season.

His fifth career playoff goal against the Fire would hold up as the Revolution knocked rivals Chicago out of the playoffs for the fourth time in their playoff history. The Revs also improve to 6-0-0 all-time at home against the Fire in the postseason while snapping the visitors 10-game unbeaten streak.

The game started with the Revolution getting a couple early shots - by Twellman and Thompson - in the first four minutes, but neither was on target.

C.J. Brown had Chicago's first shot, but it also went wide in the sixth minute.

Chicago forward Paulo Wanchope had the first legitimate chance two minutes later when he took control of the ball in the box, but his shot from the right side of the penalty area went wide of the far post.

Twellman had the best early chance of the game about 10 minutes later when he headed a shot from about six-yards out toward the far post, but a diving Pickens got a hand on it to tip it over the crossbar and keep the game scoreless.

Chicago's best chance of the first half occurred on a free kick from outside the left side of the Revs' box. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who drew the foul, took the kick and played a perfect ball to Wanchope, who was alone in the middle of the six-yard box and onside only because defender Avery John was level with him. Wanchope got his head on the cross, but he snapped it wide of the near post.

Twellman then gave the home side the first-half lead with a his bicycle kick goal seven minutes before the break.

Revs' captain Steve Ralston had a great look from the top of the box in the 44th minute after Twellman and Pat Noonan worked the defense before playing a ball to the veteran, but the league's all-time leader in assists blasted the shot high and wide.

The second half started slow as the Revs defense, led by Parkhurst and central midfielder Shalrie Joseph, shut down the Fire attack. The visitors did get a chance when a Chad Barrett blast from the top of the box went wide of the left post just before the hour mark.

Wilman Conde let a 30-yard knuckler loose three minutes later, but it just wide of the left post also.

Five minutes later, Twellman tried for the double with a chip shot after Khano Smith received a pass from Noonan and found the forward on the right side at the top of the box, but it was saved by Pickens.

About 10 minutes later, with the Fire pressing for the equalizer, Chicago defender Gonzalo Segares blasted long shot in on goal that was saved by Matt Reis, one of his 10 saves in the game.

Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio brought in Justin Mapp, who has missed the previous 11 games with an ankle injury, in the 77th minute in an effort to spark his team's offense, but the talented American had little impact in the final 13 minutes.

Pickens kept it close seven minutes from time with a save on Noonan, who drove at the defense, beat a defender then hit a shot from a crowd in the box.

Fire attacker Chris Rolfe, held in check most of the game after scoring two goals in the semis against D.C., had two shots in the final five minutes, but was unable to beat Reis.

The Fire's last good chance came in the 90th minute when late substitute Calen Carr headed a Blanco cross on goal from close range, but Reis did well to hang on for his third shutout in three postseason games this season and seventh all-time, good for a fourth-place tie with former Columbus 'keeper Tom Presthus.

The Revs will now play the winner of the other conference final between defending champs Houston and Kansas City on Saturday. The MLS Cup final will be Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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