Beckham's England career cut too short
Soccer Betting Lines
03/15/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Some people may describe David Beckham as overrated, others might call him spoiled or pampered, but one thing that is very evident when it comes to Beckham is that he is persistent.
How else to explain why Beckham was running around the pitch at the San Siro in Milan on Sunday at the age of 34, when he should have been basking in the California sun halfway around the world?
Beckham simply lives to play for England's national team, and the only way he would get another chance to play for the Three Lions in this summer's World Cup was to pull on the red and black jersey of AC Milan.
All of which makes the sight of Beckham hobbling off the field in the dying minutes of Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo on Sunday with a torn Achilles tendon so hard to watch.
The injury will rob England's most-capped outfield player of a chance to join the team at this summer's World Cup in South Africa, which would have made him the first England player to take part in four World Cups.
Beckham's England career appeared to be over after the 2006 World Cup when he voluntarily stepped down as England captain, and was not in the plans of new England boss Fabio Capello.
He appeared well on his way to retirement when he left Real Madrid and headed off to California to play in Major League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, like an elderly U.S. citizen moving to Florida or Arizona to live out their final years.
The Englishman would get to enjoy the sunny weather and would be right at home in Hollywood, while also collecting a decent paycheck for his efforts.
But a funny thing happened to Beckham as he crept closer to retirement; he realized that he needed to play for England again.
He had a past history with Capello at Real Madrid, as the Italian manager banished Beckham to the reserves, only for Beckham to earn back a place in the team.
And he pulled off a similar reversal after a successful loan spell at AC Milan, which gave the former Manchester United standout the opportunity to earn his 100th cap for England .
Many felt that Capello allowed Beckham to reach the milestone as a favor, and that he wouldn't have a chance to earn a seat on the plane to South Africa this summer.
However, Beckham returned to Milan again this past January with only one thing in mind.
"It's the only reason I am choosing to be away from my family for six months," Beckham told Fox Sports Radio about his desire to play at the World Cup. "Being in the World Cup squad is not guaranteed, even if I go to Milan it is not guaranteed, but I need to do everything possible to give myself a chance.
"It's always a roller-coaster in my career ... and it is going to be like that for the next six to eight months, but I am looking forward to it."
Little did Beckham know that his ride would be cut short just a few months into his England adventure.
After being kicked in the face in the opening minutes of Sunday's game, which left a nice little gash on the right cheek of one of the world's most recognizable faces, Beckham took a pass in midfield with no player near him late in the second half.
He took a step, but immediately grabbed at his left ankle and indicated to the bench that he was coming off.
He was examined on the sidelines for a few minutes and ultimately taken to the dressing room on a stretcher, but as tears streamed down his face he appeared to already know his fate.
To be fair, Beckham wasn't guaranteed a spot on the World Cup roster, but he appeared to be on his way to accomplishing what at first seemed a very unlikely goal.
He was not a player who would crack the starting 11, but was at peace with that fact and was prepared to contribute whatever he could to the team, whether it was to drop a pinpoint cross on the head of Wayne Rooney, or bend home one of his trademark free kicks.
Beckham's career as an England player has had plenty of ups and downs, from his red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup that saw him receive death threats, to his free kick goal against Greece that allowed England to qualify for the 2002 competition.
He has always been a magnet for attention, leading some to view him as more of a celebrity than a soccer player, but his desire to win back a place on England's team over the past couple of years has been inspiring.
His absence won't dramatically alter England's hopes of ending a World Cup title drought that dates back to 1966, but it provides a sad ending to an otherwise storybook career.
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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.