Leverkusen's Sam to miss eight weeks

Soccer Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayer Leverkusen will be without midfielder Sidney Sam for the next eight weeks after he sustained a thigh injury in the club's 2-2 draw with Stuttgart on Saturday.

Sam had recently returned to the lineup after recovering from another muscle injury, but after entering the match in the 72nd minute, he had to come off 12 minutes later.

The 24-year-old underwent tests after the match and manager Robin Dutt confirmed the extent of the injury.

"It's obviously a difficult situation for us at the moment, as almost every week we have new injuries to complain about. Sidney Sam will definitely be unavailable for the next two months," Dutt told reporters after the game.

Sam has scored four goals in 18 Bundesliga appearances this season for Leverkusen, which sits in sixth place in the league table.

Wwwcasinoonnet Soccer Betting News

<< D.C. United signs midfielder Saragosa
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United announced Monday that it has signed midfielder Marcelo Saragosa. Per league and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 30-year-old Brazilian is quite familiar with Major L

<< Ibrahimovic receives three-match ban
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been given a three-match ban for violent conduct, it was confirmed on Monday. The Swedish frontman was sent off in Milan's 0-0 draw with Napoli on Sunday after he

<< Frimpong out for season with knee injury
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On-loan Wolverhampton midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong will miss the rest of the season after he sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The injury occurred in the

<< Lisicki withdraws from Paris event
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth seed Sabine Lisicki pulled out of this week's WTA event in Paris, citing a viral illness. Estonian Kaia Kanepi also pulled out of the Open GDF Suez tournament due to a right shoulder injury. She title

<< O's deal Guthrie to Rox for Hammel and Lindstrom
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have traded pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. Guthrie was Baltimore's opening day starter in 2011 and pos

Minnesota's Love suspended two games for stomp >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has been suspended two games for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola. The incident occurred in the third quarter of the February 4 game when Love drove his foot into

Lakers' Brown suspended one game >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown was suspended one game and fined $25,000 following his ejection from the February 4 game against Utah. Brown was tossed in the fourth quarter of the 96-87 loss, and

Bender out two weeks for Dortmund >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender is set to spend the next two weeks on the sidelines because of an ankle injury, the club confirmed. Bender sustained the injury in Friday's 2-0 win over

Wild sign D Prosser >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Nate Prosser to a two-year contract extension on Monday. Prosser, 25, has posted six assists and 18 penalty minutes over 23 games with the Wild this season in close

Newcastle gets mixed news on injured duo >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle has received news on injured duo Ryan Taylor and Leon Best, with Taylor's injury not as bad as initially feared while Best will miss "a number of weeks" according to the club. Taylor suff

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.