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03/07/2010 - Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Keane scored a goal in each half and Celtic defeated Falkirk 2-0 on Sunday at Falkirk Stadium for its first win over the struggling club in three matches this season.
Celtic settled for draws in its first two games with Falkirk, 3-3 on the road, and 1-1 at Parkhead. The Bhoys claimed the third meeting against the side last in the Scottish Premier League to move back within 10 points of Rangers.
Rangers dropped Celtic 10 points off the pace last Sunday with a 1-0 victory in the Old Firm, and beat St. Mirren 3-1 on Saturday to push its lead to 13.
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray considered benching Keane following his match with Ireland earlier this week against Brazil, but the Tottenham loanee started and rewarded his coach with his third and fourth goals.
"I was half tempted to put Robbie on the bench after (the Brazil game) midweek but I started him and he got his goals," Celtic boss Tony Mowbray said on the league's website.
Keane, who is Ireland's captain, turned an assist from Morten Rasmussen into the opener in the 34th when he slotted low past Falkirk goalie Robert Olejnik.
Keane added his second in the 79th when he met a free kick from Marc Crosas to beat Olejnik for the second time.
Celtic kept its slim title hopes alive, but would still need a collapse in the closing weeks from Rangers to dethrone the defending champions.
Falkirk boss Steven Pressley was pleased with the effort, but his side sits in last place and three points behind Hamilton and St. Mirren.
"I thought we controlled the game for long periods and I'm devastated for the players," Pressley said.
Morgaro Gomis scored in the 78th as Dundee United reclaimed third with a 1-0 win over Hearts at Tannadice Park.
<< Jaguars sign Kampman
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have
signed defensive end Aaron Kampman, the team announced Sunday. Terms and
length of the deal were not disclosed.
Kampman had spent all eight of his NFL seaso
<< Czechs settle for 4-1 Davis Cup victory over Belgians
Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic wound up with a 4-1
victory over host Belgium in a first-round Davis Cup tie in Bree.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Sunday, Steve Darcis got Belgium on the
scoreboard with a
<< Everton cruises past Hull City
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikel Arteta scored his first two goals
of the season, Landon Donovan added a goal and an assist, and Everton defeated
Hull City 5-1 on Sunday at Goodison Park.
Arteta, limited to six EPL matches due to
<< Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas
Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their
first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.
The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalban
Pavlyuchenkova sets up Monterrey final showdown with Hantuchova >>
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova got past Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in Sunday's semifinal at
the $220,000 Monterrey Open. Pavlyuchenkova will face second-seeded Slovakian
Daniela Hantu
Royals' Gordon to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals announced Sunday that
third baseman Alex Gordon is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks
with a broken right thumb, leaving his status for Opening Day unclear.
Gordon was
Young scores 32 as Sixers down Raptors >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 32 points
and Jrue Holiday had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, as the
Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 114-101 win over
the Tor
Dodgers C Martin out 4-6 weeks >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin
will miss four to six weeks of action due to a pulled groin muscle.
The injury will sideline Martin for the remainder of Spring Training and
Opening Day.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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