Mallorca moves into top four
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca took over fourth place in the La Liga table on Sunday as Jose Carlos Nunes scored in the 81st minute of a 1-0 win over Villarreal at the Son Moix Stadium.
Mallorca entered the match having won all nine of its previous home matches, but its perfect record appeared to be in jeopardy as the game entered the final 10 minutes.
However, Nunes headed home the game's only goal nine minutes from time, keeping Mallorca's perfect home record intact and moving the club to within five points of third-placed Valencia.
The match marked the first time that new boss Juan Carlos Garrido was in charge of Villarreal following the departure of former coach Ernesto Valverde, and Garrido watched his side get off to a positive start as Joseba Llorente burst in on goal but shot straight into the legs of the goalkeeper.
Llorente had another chance shortly before halftime when Robert Pires slipped him a pass with goalkeeper Dudu Aouate out of position. But with Llorente about to tap the ball into the net, his shot was blocked by a last-ditch challenge from a Mallorca defender.
Aouate was tested by Llorente again after the break when he got behind the Mallorca defense and had his shot deflected by the keeper, redirecting the ball onto the top of the net.
Villarreal then paid for all of its wasted chances as nine minutes from time, a free kick from Julio Alvarez was played to the back post, allowing Nunes to climb above his defender and head the ball past goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Sevilla slipped to fifth place after they were beaten, 2-1, by Real Zaragoza, while Osasuna got past Tenerife, 1-0.
Almeria moved four points above the bottom three with a 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon, two goals from Fernando Llorente allowed Athletic Bilbao to complete a 3-2 comeback win over Xerez, Deportivo finished 0-0 with Malaga, and Racing split the points with Atletico Madrid, 1-1.
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Rautins had 20 points, as third-ranked Syracuse downed Cincinnati, 71-54, at Fifth Third Arena. Kris Joseph had 17 points, while Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku each chipped in with 11 points for t
<< Ohio State rallies in second half to clip Lady Lions
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis hit five three-
pointers and scored 26 points to pair with 12 assists, as No. 8 Ohio State
rallied from down 14 in the second half to secure an 86-73 win over Penn
State.
<< Ovechkin's hat trick keys Caps' OT comeback over Pens
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Knuble scored on the power-play with
2:11 remaining in overtime, and Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick, as the
Washington Capitals fought back from a three-goal deficit to edge Pittsburgh,
5-4, an
<< UConn rolls on with 46-point win
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles scored 20 points and Maya Moore
added 16, as top-ranked Connecticut demoralized Louisville on the road in an
84-38 romp at Freedom Hall.
The Huskies (23-0, 10-0 Big East) took a commanding 5
<< Russia outlasts Serbia in Fed Cup quarters
Belgrade, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alisa Kleybanova and Svetlana Kuznetsova
booked Russia's ticket in the Fed Cup semifinals after winning the decisive
doubles rubber on Sunday.
Kleybanova defeated Ana Ivanovic in the second reverse si
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Etienne moved seven points clear of the bottom three on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Monaco at the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium. Blaise Matuidi had the home side in front after 14 m
Udinese tops Napoli with Di Natale's late heroics >>
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage
time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the
Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed
NFL Inactives (Sunday, February 7, 2010) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 6:25 P.M. (ET)
Saints - 3rd QB Chase Daniel, TE Darnell Dinkins, RB Lynell Hamilton, T
Freeney active for Super Bowl >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney
is listed as active for the Super Bowl despite a right ankle injury.
Freeney hasn't practiced all week due to a third-degree sprain and torn
ligament in h
Sharks get D Wallin from Carolina >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks made a trade on Sunday,
acquiring defenseman Niclas Wallin and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft
from the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Wallin, a
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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