Schalke edges Stuttgart to grab first

Soccer Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kuranyi scored his 14th goal of the season to lead Schalke to a 2-1 win over Stuttgart on Friday and into first place in Germany's Bundesliga.

Schalke moved one point ahead of Bayern Munich, which can reclaim the top spot Saturday when Freiburg visits the Allianz Arena.

Edu and Kuranyi scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half at Veltins- Arena, a span that also included Serdar Tasci's goal for Stuttgart.

Edu replaced Jefferson Farfan to start the second half and scored less than a minute after entering when he slotted past Jens Lehmann to the bottom left.

Tasci headed home a pass from Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the 50th to pull Stuttgart level, but Kuranyi answered with the game-winner in the 55th. Heiko Westermann delivered the pass to Kuranyi deep inside the area and he finished from close range to move into a tie for the Bundesliga scoring lead.

Bayern had its 18-game unbeaten streak in all competitions snapped Tuesday at Fiorentina in a 3-2 loss but still advanced to the last eight in the Champions League on away goals after the aggregate finished 4-4.

Bayern just moved atop the Bundesliga two weeks ago but a 1-1 tie against Koln allowed Schalke to move into the lead after the opening game of the weekend.

The Munich club has matches against Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen over the next two weeks, and can't afford to drop points this week against Freiburg.

"We'd like to pull clear," Thomas Muller told Bayern's website. "What we have to do is win our matches and maybe open up a small gap."

Bayern was forced to use a new defense against Fiorentina, and it did show at times, but 17-year-old David Alaba played extremely well at left back. Diego Contento could return to the lineup Saturday after missing the midweek game in Italy with a knee problem, and one of those two teenagers will start.

Coach Louis Van Gaal will have selection problems this weekend with defenders Martin Demichelis and Christian Lell, striker Mario Gomez, midfielders Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Hamit Altintop all out.

Captain Mark van Bommel is also doubtful, which would leave central midfield in the hands of Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Danijel Pranjic.

"It's good we have so many great players in the squad, which means it won't be a problem," Muller said.

Also Saturday, Bochum hosts Borussia Dortmund, Mainz hosts Koln, Hertha Berlin hosts Nurnberg, Monchengladbach hosts Wolfsburg and Hannover hosts Eintracht.

On Sunday, Hoffenheim hosts Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen hosts Hamburg.

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.