L.A., Chivas set to battle for Super Clasico title

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09/13/2007 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angels Galaxy and CD Chivas USA will square off for the fourth and final installment of the Honda Super Clasico Thursday at The Home Depot Center, and both teams will be gunning for title.

The Los Angeles teams have split the season series at 1-1-1 in the first three editions of the L.A. derby, meaning Thursday's league fixture is for all the marbles. A win or a draw will give the Galaxy the Super Clasico crown for the third consecutive season while the Goats are in a position to take the series for the first time.

Chivas USA, which is two points behind Houston in the Western table, can also take the lead in the conference with a victory, while the Galaxy are desperate for their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Chivas USA is riding a five-game unbeaten streak, including a 3-0 victory over the Galaxy on Aug. 23. The Goats' leading scorer, Maykel Galindo, scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of that match to help his side to the easy victory.

"On the first one I saw that the defender had trouble clearing the ball and when the goalkeeper was coming off his line I touched it in. The second one was a very good team effort and I just finished it," he said.

There could be some bad blood between the two teams after Chivas' Alex Zotinca and L.A.'s Kevin Harmse were ejected in first half stoppage time of the last fixture after a hard challenge by Jesse Marsch on David Beckham led to a scrum at midfield.

"He had kind of gotten a piece of me quite before that. So it was somewhat a retaliation, somewhat a tactical foul because he was on a break," Chivas midfielder Marsch said. "And like I said, it was harder than I would have liked it to have been and I apologized to him. I told him I respect what he's about. He was kind of done with me though.

"It was two teams standing up for guys on their team. I think everyone respects him over there and I hope guys respect what I'm all about here. I appreciate all my teammates sticking together and that's what a team's about. I didn't see what happened between Harmse and Zotinca, but obviously things got a little bit heated. And I thought the rest of the half was pretty emotional on [the Galaxy's] part too, I thought they put a lot into it. But once it comes down to passing I think we did well," he added.

It also didn't help that Galindo was taunting the L.A. fans after he scored his two goals in the game.

"I celebrated in front of them because at the beginning of the game I saw that Claudio [Suarez] and Pancho [Francisco Mendoza] were upset at the Galaxy fan club mocking us by wearing sombreros," he said. "Pancho and Claudio felt it was a lack of respect. After all, they are Mexican and I defend these Mexican colors. That's why I went over there and now they are feeling the pain with our win and the 3-0 scoreline."

Beckham will not be on the pitch for L.A. after injuring his knee against Pachuca FC in the SuperLiga final last month, but that doesn't mean the game won't get chippy.

Both teams are coming off victories, with Chivas earning another dominating performance at The Home Depot Center in their last fixture. The Goats topped Red Bull New York 3-0 to improve its home record to 8-0-2 on the season.

"It's always impressive when you beat a team like New York, with the players they have," Chivas coach Preki said. "Obviously, after a tough and emotional game last Thursday against D.C.(a 2-2 tie), I just thought this could be a very dangerous game if we don't take it seriously from the first moment. But, from the first minute, we stepped on the field and we were sharp. In some stretches of the game we didn't play well, due to the fatigue or for whatever reason, we had a little bit of tough time and they made it a little tougher for us, but I give full credit to my players. Tonight they had a good mentality; they worked hard for each other."

The Galaxy snapped a eight game winless streak and a six game losing streak with their win last weekend over Colorado, 3-1. With Beckham already out with an injury, the team was also without Landon Donovan, who played with the U.S. National Team against Brazil Sunday.

"Tonight was a good night for us, I think we did well in all departments and obviously getting three points is the most crucial thing for tonight," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said after the game.

"Ironically, I think this was probably our poorest performance of the last couple of weeks, and we won, so I mean at this point we will take it," Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas said. "Sometimes that's the way this game goes."

After Thursday's fixture, both teams will be back in action Sunday, with L.A. hosting Houston and Chivas traveling to Colorado.

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Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
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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.

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