Bordeaux maintains edge over Montpellier
Soccer Betting Lines
03/07/2010 -
Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Costa scored in stoppage time, but
Montpellier wasted a chance to take over the lead in France's Ligue 1, because
Bordeaux goalie Cedric Carrasso saved two penalties in a 1-1 tie Sunday at the
Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas.
Bordeaux, which played the final 58 minutes with 10 men, was saved by Carrasso
and his two first-half penalty stops. He denied Costa in the 33rd, and Victor
Montano in the 42nd.
Marouane Chamakh fired Bordeaux, which has played two fewer matches, into the
lead in the 59th but Montpellier escaped with a point when Costa converted off
a free kick in the final seconds.
Bordeaux leads the league on goal differential. Lyon is just two points behind
in third.
Michael Ciani conceded the first penalty kick for a foul that earned him a red
card, but Costa's left-footed attempt was saved in the middle by Carrasso.
Matthieu Chalme handed Montpellier another chance before halftime when he was
called for a handball, but Montano's effort was saved at the bottom right.
Chamakh scored off a right-footed shot in the 59th to the bottom left, and the
hosts were in position to earn all three points despite being short-handed.
Montpellier, which was just promoted to Ligue 1 this season, managed to escape
with a point when Costa curled a left-footed shot into the lower-right corner.
Mamadou Niang scored his Ligue 1-high 15th goal but Marseille tied Lorient 1-1
at the Stade Velodrome. Marseille is fourth, just one point behind third-place
Lyon, and three behind Bordeaux and Montpellier. Lorient is ninth.
Modibo Maiga scored five minutes into the second half and Le Mans earned a 1-1
tie at Grenoble in a battle of bottom-three clubs. Le Mans is five points away
from safety, while Grenoble is 12 points away from safety in last place.
<< Kurt Busch prevails in a wild one at Atlanta
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field in a second green-white-checkered finish to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second year in a row.
Busch squeezed his way from
<< Canucks rally in third to beat Preds
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jannik Hansen scored the game-winner in the
third, as the Vancouver Canucks rallied for a 4-2 win over the Nashville
Predators.
Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, while Alexander Edler and
<< UConn crushes Syracuse to tie record
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles tied a career-high with 34
points, as top-ranked Connecticut clobbered Syracuse, 77-41, in the
quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.
It's the 70th consecutive win for the
<< Inter held to scoreless draw by Genoa
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at San Siro
by Genoa on Sunday, the third time in its last four Serie A matches is has not
scored.
Inter has tied four of its last five matches in Italy's top flight, with th
<< Pate wins in Bogota
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Tour winner Steve Pate parred
the second playoff hole Sunday to defeat Aaron Watkins and win the inaugural
Bogota Open.
Pate, the third-round leader, only managed an even-par 71 in the final rou
Pens down Bruins, who lose Savard >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin scored early in the third
period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at
Mellon Arena.
Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who have won four straig
Villegas earns five-shot win at Honda Classic >>
Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas captured his third
PGA Tour win on Sunday, leaving the rest of the field in the dust with a
closing two-under 68 at the Honda Classic.
The 28-year-old Colombian posted a 13-
Iginla's hat trick helps Flames beat Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla recorded his second hat trick of
the season, as the Calgary Flames handled the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in a battle
between Northwest Division foes at the XCel Energy Center.
Iginla also dished out a
Magic survive Kobe, Lakers to win fifth straight >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored a team-high 25 points, and
Dwight Howard added 15 points and 16 rebounds, as the Orlando Magic escaped
with a 96-94 win over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch
of last
NFL suspends free agent DT Ferguson >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has reportedly
suspended defensive tackle Jason Ferguson for the first eight games of the
2010 season for a violation of the league's performance enhancing drug
program
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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