Davis moves Rangers closer to the top

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Steven Davis propelled Rangers to a 4-0 win over Hibernian at the Ibrox Stadium on Saturday, moving the club to within a point of leaders Celtic.

Davis scored the lone goal of the first half when he was played in behind the defense by Sone Aluko and fired his shot past goalkeeper Mark Brown.

The lead was doubled 10 minutes after the break when David Healy tracked down a long ball from Sasa Papac and beat Brown with the 'keeper out of position, while Hibs was reduced to 10 men in the 71st minute as James McPake picked up a second yellow card.

Aluko scored on the ensuing free kick to make it 3-0, and Davis added to the misery for the visitors by capping the scoring in stoppage time with his second goal of the contest.

Hibernian has lost three of its last four games and sits just one point off the bottom of the league.

Aberdeen 1, Dunfermline 0

Aberdeen, Scotland - Scott Vernon's first-half goal was enough for Aberdeen to extend its unbeaten streak to five games as the Dons secured a 1-0 win over Dunfermline at Pittodrie Stadium on Saturday.

The goal arrived in the 24th minute when Dunfermline goalkeeper Iain Turner came racing off his line to intercept a pass from Mark Reynolds. However, Vernon arrived at the ball first and headed it over the 'keeper for the game's lone goal.

Aberdeen moves into the top half of the table with the win, while Dunfermline has dropped seven of its last eight games and remains on the bottom of the league.

Inverness 0, St. Mirren 0

Inverness, Scotland - Inverness and St Mirren each moved a point further from the bottom as the two sides played to a 0-0 draw at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Saturday.

Inverness put some distance between itself and the bottom with a run of three wins and a draw in its last four games, while the Saints entered Saturday's match on a three-game losing streak.

The closest that either side came to breaking the deadlock arrived shortly after substitute Claude Gnakpa entered the match for Inverness in the 64th minute.

He sent a low shot whistling past goalkeeper Craig Samson but saw his effort strike the inside of the post and carom back into play.

Motherwell 3, St. Johnstone 2

Motherwell, Scotland - Motherwell strengthened its hold on third place on Saturday as Henrik Ojamaa scored a pair of goals in a 3-2 win over St Johnstone at Fir Park Stadium.

The two teams traded goals in the first half with Ojamaa putting Motherwell in front in the 22nd minute, only for Jody Morris to equalize for St Johnstone just before halftime.

Ojamaa found the net again in the 65th minute for the hosts and Keith Lasley stretched the lead to 3-1 15 minutes from time before Francisco Sandaza pulled a goal back for the visitors from the penalty spot with nine minutes to play.

Motherwell moves six points clear of fourth-place Hearts following the win, while St Johnstone fails to claim fourth place after sustaining its second loss in three matches.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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