Reality check: Germany held to scoreless draw by England

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After setting a record with 11 goals in its opening match, Germany was held to a 0-0 draw by England on Friday.

Germany had scored a goal in its last 11 World Cup games, the third longest streak ever, but had that mark stopped thanks to a stubborn England back line and a big save in the game's final 10 minutes by keeper Rachel Brown.

Germany would have secured a spot in the quarterfinals with a win, but will have to wait until Monday against Japan to do so. The Japanese earned a 1-0 win against Argentina earlier in the day, putting them in a tie atop Group A with the Germans.

England, meanwhile, played to its second straight draw in the tournament, but is in a good position to advance as long as they can beat a weak Argentina side on Monday.

England enjoyed a strong start to the match, and had the better of the play early on.

A mistake by German keeper Nadine Angerer in the sixth minute nearly allowed England to steal the lead. A long ball from the back intended for Kelly Smith skipped to the edge of the area, and Angerer came off her line to clear it. She ran to the edge of the box and tried to head the ball clear because she was unsure of where she was on the field. The ball glanced off her head and went behind her but rolled wide of the goal.

Germany did not find too many openings in the first half, but had a good free- kick chance in the 11th minute. Melanie Behringer was on the ball 35 yards from goal and decided to take a crack at the net, blasting a hard shot over the wall and just over the crossbar.

England tried to grab the opening goal on a set piece of its own, with Fara Williams driving the ball low into the box for Smith. The ball was struck low and just skipped over the foot of Smith, who tried to redirect it from the penalty spot.

Germany's Kerstin Garefrekes got open inside the box and sent a glancing header on net minutes before halftime, but Brown saved it easily.

The two teams played a fairly even first half, with Smith looking dangerous for England, and Germany serving up some promising crosses.

Germany began to take control of the contest after the restart, spending the majority of the second half inside the England portion of the field. The English defense held up despite coming under pressure and being forced to deal with a number of balls played into the box.

Captain Birgit Prinz got involved in the 72nd minute when Sandra Smisek took a pass at the top of the box with her back to the goal and laid it off for Prinz. The star striker took a touch into the box but had defender Faye White all over her back. She was able to get a sliding shot off, but it had little behind it and rolled comfortably to Brown.

The best chance of the match fell to Garefrekes eight minutes from time, but Brown came up with a big stop to keep Germany off the board. A loose ball at the edge of the box was knocked toward goal but took a deflection off of an England defender. The ball ended up on the foot of Garefrekes, who was open at the right post. She hit a low shot along the ground that was headed for the far post, but Brown got down and knocked the ball away with her foot, preserving a share of the points for England.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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