Rapids hand three-year extension to technical director Bravo

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on Wednesday that the club has signed technical director Paul Bravo to a three- year contract extension.

Bravo has presided over Colorado's soccer operations since 2009 and helped the team claim the 2010 MLS Cup.

"Paul has done great things at this club, both as a player and in his current role as technical director," said Rapids president Tim Hinchey. "His work helped us earn our first championship, he's established our youth academy as one of the top in the country, and he conducted an excellent coaching search that led us to Oscar Pareja. We're pleased to have him on board for at least the next three seasons."

Bravo has been a member of the Rapids family for years having played five seasons with the club before serving two years as an assistant coach.

In his role as technical director, Bravo is responsible for not only the first-team operations but also the club's youth academy as well as domestic and international scouting.

Foxsorts Soccer Betting News

<< Flames ink C Kolanos
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Krys Kolanos to a two year, two-way contract and recalled him from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Calgary native has appeared

<< Ljubicic falls; Dodig wins Zagreb opener
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatian tennis hero Ivan Ljubicic went by way of a second-round upset, while reigning champion Ivan Dodig of the host nation was an opening-round winner Wednesday at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event.

<< Blue Jays sign P Cordero
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Francisco Cordero to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million, the team announced Wednesday. Cordero, 36, spent the last four season with the Reds. He posted a 2.45

<< Panthers F Versteeg out Wednesday with flu
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Panthers forward Kris Versteeg will miss Wednesday's game against the Washington Capitals with the flu. The 25-year-old also missed practice on Monday and Tuesday with the malady. In his first s

<< Irving, Rubio named NBA's top rookies for January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio were named the top rookies in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for games played from the season'

Galaxy adds Nakazawa from Philadelphia >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy acquired midfielder Kyle Nakazawa and a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for an international roster spot on Wednesday. Nakazawa was selected in the third roun

Nationals sign RHP Durbin >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with veteran relief pitcher Chad Durbin on Wednesday. MLB.com, which cited a baseball source, reported the deal and said it includes an in

Eight set to go in Robert B. Lewis Stakes >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight three-year-olds get back into action Saturday afternoon in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The 1 1/16-mile race is an important prep for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Apri

Patriots try to settle score with Giants in Super Bowl XLVI >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The stage may be different and new, but there will be a very familiar feel to Super Bowl XLVI. Just like they did four years ago, the New York Giants and New England Patriots will battle for the coveted crown of NFL champi

New record purse for Daytona 500 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Officials from Daytona International Speedway announced Wednesday a record purse of more than $19 million for the February 26 season-opening Daytona 500. The purse for NASCAR's most prestigious

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.