Inter's winning run halted by Lecce

Soccer Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - Lecce, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan saw its seven-match winning streak in Serie A come to an end on Sunday at Lecce as Guillermo Giacomazzi's 40th- minute goal was enough to give the hosts a 1-0 win.

The goal arrived from a Massimo Oddo ball into the penalty area that Giacomazzi brought down and fired past goalkeeper Julio Cesar on the turn.

Inter cranked up the pressure in the second half and had two goals called back for offsides before a string of saves from Lecce goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi preserved the win.

The first stop denied Ricardo Alvarez before he made another save on Maicon. But the best effort of the day came in the game's final minute as Benassi reacted well to keep out a close-range header from Giampaolo Pazzini following an Alvarez free kick.

Lecce remains in the bottom three but moves to within three points of safety having collected seven points from its last three matches.

Inter drops back to fifth place and nine points off the pace of leaders Juventus.

AC Milan 3, Cagliari 0

Milan, Italy - Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his Serie A-high 15th goal and added an assist, as AC Milan rolled to a 3-0 win over Cagliari on Sunday at the San Siro to move back within one point of Serie A leader Juventus.

Ibrahimovic scored off a free kick after 32 minutes, then chested down a pass for Antonio Nocerino to hammer home for his seventh goal in the 39th.

Massimo Ambrosini added an insurance goal in the 75th, as Milan clinched its fifth win in its last six. The defending Serie A champions are second on 43 points behind unbeaten leader Juve.

Cagliari lost for the third time in its last six as it slipped to 13th with just 23 points from 20 matches.

Fiorentina 2, Siena 1

Florence, Italy - Fiorentina claimed its second win in seven matches on Sunday with a 2-1 home triumph over Siena.

Stevan Jovetic notched the opening goal after four minutes and Cesare Natali doubled the lead shortly after the hour mark for the Viola.

Emanuele Calaio handed Siena a chance to get back into the game with a penalty kick in the 89th minute following a handball from Matija Nastasic, but the hosts held out for all three points and move nine points clear of the drop zone, with Siena sitting only three points above the bottom three.

Atalanta 1, Cesena 0

Cesena, Italy - Atalanta ended a three-match losing streak on Sunday as Marco Rossi's own goal gave the visitors a 1-0 win at Cesena.

A cross from Ezequiel Schelotto in the 76th minute was deflected by Rossi into his own net, but Cesena was given a chance three minutes later when Atalanta's German Denis received a second yellow card.

Substitute Jorge Martinez had the best chance over the final 10 minutes when his shot from eight yards in the dying moments was kept out by goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, dealing Cesena its fifth loss in six matches.

Lazio 3, Chievo 0

Verona, Italy - Lazio climbed into the top four on Sunday after notching a 3-0 win at Chievo that moves the club to within two points of third-place Udinese.

Edy Reja's side had lost two of its last three games but started well with Hernanes putting the visitors ahead after 21 minutes.

The teams remained separated by just one goal until the final minutes, when Lazio's Miroslav Klose tallied two late goals to seal the win and move his team past Inter Milan.

Chievo is 12th following the loss, which is the club's second in four games.

Genoa 3, Napoli 2

Genoa, Italy - Two goals from Rodrigo Palacio helped Genoa to a 3-2 win over Napoli on Sunday at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium as the hosts survived a late scare to remain in the top half of the league.

Genoa entered the contest having lost three of its last four games, but got off to a fantastic start as first-half strikes from Palacio and Alberto Gilardino put the hosts up two goals at the break.

Palacio appeared to wrap up the points with his second goal of the match 20 minutes from time, but Napoli rallied to pull to within a goal in the final 10 minutes as Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi scored three minutes apart.

The rally fell short, however, and Napoli saw its four-game unbeaten streak come to an end.

Palermo 2, Novara 0

Palermo, Italy - Palermo dealt last-place Novara its fourth successive defeat on Sunday as two goals from Igor Budan gave the hosts a 2-0 win at the Renzo Barbera.

Fabrizio Miccoli played provider on both of Budan's goals, with the first coming four minutes before halftime on a header.

Palermo had lost two of its previous three contests, but another header from Budan in the 72nd minute after Miccoli's cross secured the win and keeps the club in the top eight.

Novara is seven points from safety and looks to be facing a real battle to stay in the top flight.

Roma 1, Bologna 1

Rome, Italy - Roma saw its run of four straight wins in Serie A come to a halt at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday as bottom-half side Bologna claimed a 1-1 draw.

Marco Di Vaio gave the visitors the lead in the 56th minute, with Roma answering through Miralem Pjanic six minutes later to salvage a point.

Both sides had chances to snatch the win, but both had to settle for a point, which gives Bologna three successive draws and moves the club five points clear of the bottom three.

Sothevys Soccer Betting News

<< Banham leads Minnesota to upset of No. 9 Ohio State
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Banham had 20 points as Minnesota took down No. 9 Ohio State, 76-65, in Big Ten action. Kiara Buford donated 15 points and seven assists for the Golden Gophers (12-11, 4-5 Big Ten), who sna

<< Foot injury sidelines Podolski
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Relegation-threatened Cologne received some bad news on Sunday as it was revealed that striker Lukas Podolski will be out for the next three weeks because of a foot injury. Podolski scored the opening

<< Chelsea's Ramires out up to four weeks
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea midfielder Ramires will be out for up to four weeks after sustaining a knee injury in his team's 1-0 FA Cup win over QPR on Saturday. Scans after the match revealed that the Brazilian had suffere

<< Buckeyes down Wolverines to move atop Big Ten
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lenzelle Smith, Jr. finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 4 Ohio State pulled away for a 64-49 victory against 20th-ranked Michigan. The teams had been tied atop the conference standings, but th

<< Irish escape Connecticut for third straight win
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't pretty, but Notre Dame extended its winning streak to three with a 50-48 victory over 24th-ranked Connecticut at the XL Center. The Fighting Irish (14-8, 6-3 Big East) started their run by kn

No. 6 Kentucky downs Alabama >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keyla Snowden had 14 points to lift No. 6 Kentucky to an 82-68 win over Alabama in an SEC battle. A'dia Mathies scored 13 points and Bria Goss added 11 for the Wildcats (20-2, 9-0), who have won n

Ajaccio leaves it late to escape relegation zone >>
Valenciennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Kinkela scored 3 minutes into stoppage time as 10-man Ajaccio edged Valenciennes, 2-1, on Sunday at the Stade du Hainaut to climb out of the relegation zone in France's Ligue 1. Ajaccio w

Malaga holds off Sevilla to snap skid >>
Malaga, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Malaga held off Sevilla on Sunday to snap its six-game winless skid, even though Isco was sent off 11 minutes from time in a 2-1 win at the Estadio La Rosaleda in Spain's La Liga. Weligton and Sebastian Fer

Algorithms finds winning formula for Holy Bull Stakes >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Algorithms, ridden by Javier Castellano, overtook a tiring Hansen down the stretch to capture Sunday's $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 5-2 second choice covered the mil

Mavericks' Kidd out at least a week >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd will miss at least one week of action due to a strained right calf. Kidd suffered the injury early in Friday's game against Utah. Head coach Rick Carlisle said before Su

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.