Another Muller starring in World Cup for Germany

Soccer Betting Lines

06/28/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Muller made his international debut for Germany just three months ago, but the 20-year-old is already being compared to the country's most prolific striker. And it's not just because they share the same last name.

Gerd Muller, no relation to Thomas, retired from international soccer 36 years ago after scoring the winning goal in West Germany's 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup final.

Gerd's match-winner was the last of his 14 World Cup goals, a record broken by Brazil's Ronaldo in 2006, and he scored an incredible 68 career goals in just 62 international games.

Thomas certainly won't equal that record of averaging more than a goal a game, but through four FIFA World Cup matches in South Africa, Germany's new star has three goals and three assists.

Thomas evoked more comparisons to his namesake when he got the No. 13 jersey for the World Cup, after captain Michael Ballack was ruled out with an injury. Gerd had the same number in the 1970 and 1974 World Cups.

Thomas reminded English fans of the legendary Gerd on Sunday, when he scored a pair of goals and added an assist in a 4-1 win that sent Germany into the last eight.

Gerd scored the match-winner against England in overtime of the 1970 World Cup quarterfinals and Muller scored both of his goals in the second half Sunday.

Thomas became the youngest player to score two goals in a game in the round of 16 or later since Brazil's Pele scored twice in the 1958 World Cup final.

"It's unbelievable to think that he is still only 20 years old," Germany coach Joachim Loew said of his young star.

Thomas made just his third appearance for Germany when he opened the World Cup as a starter, and he rewarded Loew by assisting on the first goal of a 4-1 win over Australia. Muller added his first international goal in the second half.

Then, in a must-win match against Ghana in the last game of group play, Muller assisted on Mesut Ozil's game-winner in the 60th minute of a 1-0 win.

He began his performance against England with another assist to Podolski, then finished two counter attacks in the second half.

On the first goal, Muller played a long outlet to start the break, and Bastian Schweinsteiger later returned the pass for Thomas to convert at the near post.

Minutes later, the phenom made an 80-yard sprint to offer an option for Ozil, then buried his second goal with a relatively easy finish from inside the area.

"Thomas has a lot of quality and is fantastic in front of goal," Loew said.

Germany has filtered a lot of play through Muller, and with the results he can produce, it is easy to understand why. In addition to being deadly in front of goal, he differentiates himself from other strikers with his wing play.

Mature as a player and person, Muller is focused on Saturday's quarterfinal match with Argentina, against whom he debuted in a friendly a few months ago. He knows what he's done so far is irrelevant in respect to the upcoming match, and believes Germany can continue its run in the tournament.

"Everything is possible now. We can beat anyone if we play to the best of our ability," he said. "We are focused on our goal at this tournament and I have left some space in my trophy cabinet at home."

Even if it doesn't include a World Cup winners' medal, it could very well have the tournament's Best Young Player Award in it in a few weeks.

And with a shot at playing in at least two more World Cups, Thomas could stand alongside Gerd as an equal before his career is over.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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