Real Madrid sold its 'soul' to Schalke

Soccer Betting Lines

07/29/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul in Royal Blue? Fitting, I guess, even if it's tough to imagine. Raul ended his 16-year stay at Real Madrid this week and started his second life at Schalke on Thursday.

Signed to a "lifetime contract" by Real Madrid just two years ago, the Spanish legend was allowed to walk away from the only club he's ever known. He has 323 goals in 741 career games, but the 33-year-old was no longer wanted.

Real Madrid has made this mistake before, just not at this Everest-like level. Just last offseason, Real discarded Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder and their new teams, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, made the Champions League final.

There comes a time in every player's life, even those with so-called "lifetime contracts," when it's time to hang it up. But Raul still had plenty to give Real - just ask Schalke coach Felix Magath.

"We can present the fans," Magath said at a news conference on Thursday, "with one of the best players in the world."

Raul will trade his iconic No. 7 Real Madrid jersey for Schalke colors, though that's almost like picturing Cal Ripken in Yankee pinstripes.

"He was the soul of Real Madrid," Italy's Francesco Totti said on his website.

That said, just a few thousand fans came to the Bernabeu to send him off. A year ago, the stadium was almost full when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived. How easily we forget Raul led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles.

Although Raul's role was limited last season for Real, he still appeared in 40 games in all competitions. He scored twice in the Champions League, increasing his own record to 66 career goals in the competition.

The German team was second behind Bayern in the Bundesliga last year to secure a spot in the group stage of this season's Champions League. Raul could get an early look at his old team, if Schalke and Real are drawn together.

Regardless, Raul is set to break a tie with AC Milan's Filippo Inzaghi for the all-time scoring lead in European competitions. Both have 68 career goals.

Schalke does not have Real's history, but Raul fills the only huge hole in the Royal Blues' lineup after 18-goal scorer Kevin Kuranyi left earlier this year.

Schalke will contend for the league title and it will compete in the Champions League. Sound familiar Madrid? Real finished second in Spain's La Liga and was eliminated in the Champions League round of 16 for the sixth straight time one season ago.

"Our aim should be to have a major say in the [league] title race," said Raul, who retired as Spain's all-time scoring leader four years ago with 44 goals in 102 games. "It's going to be tough in the Champions League."

Real made it easier for Schalke by letting Raul depart. Thank you cards by the dozens should be on their way from Gelsenkirchen to Madrid.

"If anyone knows the true significance of the Champions League it's him," said German Christoph Metzelder, who also left Real this offseason to join Schalke.

Raul signed a two-year contract with Schalke and said on Thursday his years at Real Madrid were "officially" over. He lead Real to six La Liga titles, and if he can end Schalke's title drought, which dates to 1958, he will be an icon at Veltins-Arena as well.

Raul may have joined Schalke on a free transfer, but Real sold its soul by allowing him to leave.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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