Lekic, Osasuna sink Barcelona
Soccer Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - Navarra, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's title ambitions took a massive hit on Saturday as Dejan Lekic scored a first-half brace to help Osasuna stun the defending champions, 3-2, at the Estadio El Sadar.
Lekic provided an early blow to the visitors when he scored in the fourth minute, while the advantage was doubled in the 21st when Lekic got on the other end of a low cross from Alvaro Cejudo to finish off the play at close range.
Barca found a way back into the match early in the second half with Isaac Cuenca's cross being converted from a few yards out by Alexis Sanchez, only for the hosts to restore their two-goal lead five minutes later with Raul Garcia knocking a shot off the near post and into the net.
Cristian Tello came off the bench to pull a goal back for Barca in the 73rd with a fine left-footed strike from inside the penalty area, but Osasuna continued to threaten as Francisco Punal struck the post.
The visitors poured on the pressure over the final 15 minutes, and after Sanchez had a goal ruled out for offsides, the Chile international was denied by a good save from Osasuna goalkeeper Andres Fernandez.
Barca's final chance to claim a point came deep into stoppage time when a header from Cesc Fabregas was saved by Fernandez from eight yards.
Pep Guardiola's men are now seven points back of leaders Real Madrid, who can move 10 points clear with a win on Sunday at home against Levante.
Real Betis 2, Athletic Bilbao 1
Seville, Spain - Real Betis moved three points above the drop zone on Saturday as Nelson's stoppage-time goal handed the home side a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Ruben Castro fired Betis in front in the opening 10 minutes when he curled a shot inside the far post from 10 yards, only for Javi Martinez to cancel out the tally 12 minutes later with a headed goal from a corner kick for Athletic.
But Martinez received his second yellow card in the 63rd, and Nelson snatched all three points for his side with a well-struck volley from the edge of the penalty area to help Betis snap a run of three losses in four games.
Racing 0, Atletico Madrid 0
Santander, Spain - Atletico Madrid was held to a second successive 0-0 draw on Saturday, this time at Racing.
The visitors dominated play for long spells, especially in the second half, but were unlucky not to leave El Sardinero with three points.
Atletico was especially in control in the second half as Diego struck the post after exchanging passes with Arda Turan, while Radamel Falcao also wasted a great opportunity as he shot the ball against the post after collecting a rebound from Diego's shot.
A win could have temporarily lifted Atletico into the top four, but the club will have to settle for extending its unbeaten streak to six games.
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder each scored 23 points, as the 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles dominated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 95-78. Jamil Wilson and Vander Blue added 15 and 14 points
<< Wojta powers Green Bay past Wright State
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julie Wojta may only be six feet tall, but
she stood head and shoulders above Wright State on Saturday.
The undersized forward scored 30 points, pulled down 20 rebounds, blocked four
shots and added eight
<< Senior joins Pavin in the lead in Boca Raton
Boca Raton, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Senior birdied the final hole Saturday
to join Corey Pavin atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the Allianz
Championship.
Senior carded a four-under 68 in round two, while Pavin managed a two-under
<< Hall lifts Oilers over Senators in OT
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taylor Hall scored 17 seconds into overtime to
lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Magnus Paajarvi, Ben Eager and Shawn Horcoff also scored for the Oilers and
Horcoff
<< Milan rallies to down Udinese
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan scored twice in the final 15 minutes
to claim a 2-1 comeback win at Udinese on Saturday, moving the Rossoneri two
points clear of Juventus at the top of Serie A.
Antonio Di Natale fired Udinese i
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Robinson had 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping the seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks dominate the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 81-66. Jeff Withey also had a double-double with 18 points and 19 boa
Thunder Moccasin strikes in Hutcheson Stakes >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Thunder Moccasin had
a successful three-year-old debut Saturday in the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes at
Gulfstream Park. The colt covered the seven-furlongs in 1:24.16 on a track
listed
UNLV holds off San Diego State >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Hawkins forced a turnover with one
second remaining and UNLV preserved a 13-point second-half edge as they held
off San Diego State, 65-63, at Thomas & Mack Center.
Mike Moser led the way w
Tennessee knocks off No. 8 Florida >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trae Golden had 17 points to go with seven
assists as the Tennessee Volunteers earned their first true road win of the
season with a 75-70 triumph over No. 8 Florida.
Jeronne Maymon recorded a double-
Morgan's late heroics lift U.S. past New Zealand >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Morgan scored twice in the final minutes to
cap a 2-1 comeback win for the U.S. women's national team against New Zealand
in a friendly on Saturday.
The Americans dominated play in the first half but were
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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