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06/27/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Had Frank Lampard's shot in the 38th minute been correctly ruled a goal, England may have gone on to win its round of 16 match against Germany on Sunday and advanced to the quarterfinals.
You can make a case that England would not have committed so many men forward and therefore would not be so open to counter-attack chances that led to two Germany goals in the second half of a 4-1 loss.
But the goal didn't count and England has crashed out of the World Cup in disappointing fashion.
That's just the reality.
It does no good to talk about goal line technology at this point because FIFA has decided against it on numerous occasions. And while this game could be enough to help persuade Sepp Blatter and his cohorts to finally use it, that doesn't help Fabio Capello and his team at this point.
That is a topic for another day.
The tough part is that England is left wondering what might have been had Lampard's goal been given, but the Three Lions have only themselves to blame for the defeat.
David James was very poor in goal, and the England back line made more than a few mistakes in allowing Germany to take a two-goal lead in the opening 35 minutes.
The Three Lions only really showed some signs of life after they were already two goals down, so to blame the defeat on a missed call is sad.
James certainly cannot be pleased with his effort as he didn't react quickly on Miroslav Klose's first goal, while the center back pairing of Matthew Upson and John Terry was also left red-faced as they looked foolish in allowing Klose to walk through the middle to score the first goal.
The 39-year-old James looked every bit his age on Germany's second goal as he allowed Lukas Podolski to score from a tight angle before letting in a terrible goal from Thomas Muller, who beat the goalie at his near post.
Quite simply, James needs to make at least a couple of those saves, but after Robert Green's high-profile error in the opener against the United States, the goalkeeping position as a whole has to be a major concern.
The England attack also did nothing to flatter itself as Wayne Rooney had a very forgettable World Cup as a whole, and continued his struggles against Germany on Sunday as England failed to get both Rooney and fellow striker Jermain Defoe into the flow of the game.
Overall, Germany was just the better team, and yes they got the benefit of a bad call, but it shouldn't overshadow a typically strong effort by the mentally-tough Germans.
One of Germany's trademarks has been an ability to thrive under pressure, even when they are not the most talented team on the field, while England has crumbled in the biggest situations time and again.
England just wasn't able to pick itself up after the missed call, and Germany, as expected, went about its business and did what it needed to do to advance.
Not only has England's World Cup come to end, but it is now fair to wonder if players like Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand have played their last World Cup for the team.
Ferdinand missed this summer's tournament because of injury and he will be 35 by the time the next World Cup rolls around in Brazil four years from now.
The midfield duo of Lampard and Steven Gerrard will be 36 and 34, respectively, and even Terry will be 33 and could be on the downside of his career.
Certainly more was expected from this group of players for England, especially after such an impressive qualifying campaign.
But the team never seemed to hit its stride in South Africa, and now they have four years to figure out how to improve.
Blame England's second-place finish in a weak group, blame James and his poor goalkeeping, blame an inconsistent defense, or blame Rooney's incredibly disappointing performance for the loss.
Hell, find a reason to blame David Beckham.
But don't place the blame at the feet of the officials.
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Leyland ejected while arguing call at first base >>
ATLANTA (AP) -Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland has been ejected from Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning for arguing a close call at first base.A day after umpire Gary Cederstrom acknowledged he blew a called strike three
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Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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