Henry to New York exactly what MLS needs

Soccer Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In one of the worst-kept secrets in soccer, French striker Thierry Henry will be announced as Red Bull New York's second designated player at a press conference on Thursday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

What does the signing of the former Arsenal and Barcelona star mean to New York and Major League Soccer?

Everything.

Not only will signing the 32-year-old star add a big name to help Red Bull and MLS gain some long-term traction in the New York market, but it will immediately put MLS in the news cycle after the dramatic World Cup exploits of the United States national team put soccer's popularity in America at an all- time high.

The fact that New York is able to add one of the top scorers in English Premier League history, a player only three years removed from being Arsenal's captain, is a major coup for MLS.

Don't believe me? Ask Henry's buddy, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash, also part-owner of the 2011 MLS Expansion Vancouver Whitecaps.

"He's played at some of the biggest clubs in the world," said Nash at Red Bull Arena on Saturday. "He's had a fantastic time at Arsenal, a fantastic time at Barcelona and when you've been a professional soccer player at the highest level with all those expectations since you're 17, sometimes you welcome a change."

Nash went on to talk about how much Henry loves New York and the United States, and how much he can add to MLS.

"I think we're lucky, too, because Thierry's still a world-class player," he said. "We've seen players come over before who've shown how great they were but not necessarily every night. I think he's still capable of playing at the highest level of this game. It's amazing that he's willing to come over here at this stage of his career, to be honest."

Not since the Los Angeles Galaxy signed David Beckham prior to the 2007 season has MLS scored such an international star.

In a league where the Galaxy have cornered the market in both points and headlines (even with the long-term Achilles injury to Beckham), New York now has an opportunity to balance out the spotlight with its own star, in the first year of its brand-new soccer-specific stadium.

Prior to the 2010 MLS season, New York's other designated player, striker Juan Pablo Angel, told The Sportsbook Betting Lines he was "excited about [opening Red Bull Arena] because I'm sure it will change the perspective of the game in this region."

Now with Henry, and the Red Bulls reportedly closing in on a third DP, that perspective should continue to evolve.

"Getting top-quality, experienced players is obviously going to help us continue what looks like a decent year for the club," New York general manager Erik Soler told media on Saturday. "We're going to get a good player in and we'll have to take it from there and see. It will lift the whole team and make everybody even sharper and better, and it will be a great experience for us."

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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