Italy leaves Toni, Totti off preliminary team

Soccer Betting Lines

05/11/2010 - Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luca Toni and Francesco Totti were not included in Italy's 30-man preliminary World Cup roster, which was released Tuesday.

Coach Marcello Lippi also left Nicola Legrottaglie off the team, but included American-born striker Giuseppe Rossi.

Toni, a starting striker on Italy's 2006 World Cup winning team, lost his role at Bayern Munich prior to this season and, despite a loan to Roma, did not do enough to retain a spot under Lippi.

Totti retired after the last World Cup, but he reportedly would have played in 2010 if Lippi called him into the squad. Legrottaglie was not included, even though he participated in a two-day camp with Italy recently.

Rossi, who plays for Spain's Villarreal, was one of seven forwards selected to the team. Marco Borriello, Antonio Di Natale, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Giampaolo Pazzini and Fabio Quagliarella were also included.

Following is Italy's complete preliminary roster:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo).

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Fabio Grosso (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan).

Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).

Wwwbetandwin Soccer Betting News

<< Wozniacki, Dementieva exit Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and two-time major finalist Elena Dementieva were a pair of second-round upset victims Tuesday at the $4.5 million Madrid Open, a clay-court French Open tune-up

<< Four-match suspension for Roma's Totti
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma's Francesco Totti has been banned for four Coppa Italia games following his dismissal in last week's final. Totti was charged with unsporting conduct by the Italian football authorities after aiming a del

<< Real's Benzema ready to see out contract
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karim Benzema has dampened down speculation suggesting he will leave Real Madrid this summer after spending just one year in the Spanish capital. The France international has endured a disappointing c

<< Twins' Hardy lands on DL
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins have placed shortstop J.J. Hardy on the 15-day disabled list with a left wrist contusion. The move is retroactive to May 5. Hardy was injured a day earlier when sliding into third base. I

<< Jones tabs Inkster, Steinhauer as Solheim assistant captains
Mobile, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team captain Rosie Jones added Juli Inkster and Sherri Steinhauer as her assistant captains for the 2011 United States Solheim Cup team. Tuesday's announcement brings plenty of experience to the team as Inkste

Reid plans to stay at Hamilton >>
Hamilton, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton manager Billy Reid insists that he will still be with the SPL club next season, having guided the Accies to seventh place this term. Reid has been linked with a summer exit from New Do

Dortmund swoops for Japanese star Kagawa >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund has signed Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa from Cerezo Osaka for a nominal transfer fee. The 21-year-old has spent the last four years with the J-League outfit and is widely consi

Barca's Iniesta returns to training >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's attempt to retain its La Liga crown have been handed a boost after Andres Iniesta returned to training. The 26-year-old has been sidelined for more than a month with a hamstring injury b

Wolverhampton extends Bia's loan >>
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton has extended the loan stay of Charleroi winger Geoffrey Mujangi Bia for a further 12 months. The 20-year-old moved to Molineux in January and made only five appearances for Mick McC

Haskell to go national on ABC >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One year after the filly Rachel Alexandra made history by winning the $1 million Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park announced that the race will be televised on ABC. "This is a terrific opportunity t

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.