Ronaldo's hat trick lifts Real over 10-man Levante
Soccer Betting Lines
02/12/2012 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick after Levante had Vicente Iborra sent off, and Real Madrid won 4-2 at the Bernabeu on Sunday to open a 10-point lead atop La Liga.
Gustavo Cabral fired fourth-place Levante into the lead inside 5 minutes, but a second yellow to Iborra late in the first half earned him an early trip to the shower, and put Ronaldo on the spot for his first goal of the match.
Ronaldo added two more goals in the second half and now leads La Liga with 27, and Karim Benzema added a fourth to seal Real's 11th home win in 12 matches.
Levante did make the match interesting for a few minutes in the second half as Arouna Kone scored in the 63rd to cut Real's lead to 3-2, but Benzema's strike followed just 3 minutes later.
Real took advantage of Barcelona's loss Saturday, and now leads the standings by 10 points with 16 matches left in the season. Levante is 26 points off the pace in fourth.
Valencia 4, Sporting Gijon 0
Valencia, Spain - Sofiane Feghouli's first-half goal sparked Valencia to a 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon on Sunday at the Estadio Mestalla as the hosts snapped a five-game La Liga winless run.
Feghouli scored in the 33rd, an own goal put Valencia in control in the 73rd, and Jonas added a brace in stoppage time to seal his club's first win since mid-December.
Despite the slide, Valencia maintained third and used the win to solidify its place in the Champions League places. Gijon lost for the third time during its current four-game winless run, and sits 19th on just 19 points from 22 games.
Villarreal 3, Granada 1
Villarreal, Spain - Marco Ruben and Borja Valero scored as Villarreal won its second straight, and for the third time in its last four, 3-1 over Granada on Sunday to climb to 14th in La Liga.
Ruben opened the scoring on 16 minutes and, after Inigo Lopez tied the fixture early in the second half for Granada, Valero restored the lead in the 64th. An own goal in the 73rd accounted for Villarreal's third goal.
The Yellow Submarines were in the bottom three before their recent success and have pulled three points clear of the relegation zone. Granada had a two-match win streak snapped, and is two points from danger in 16th.
Real Zaragoza 2, Espanyol 0
Barcelona, Spain - Last-place Real Zaragoza used goals from Paulo Da Silva and Juan Carlos to post just its third win of the season Sunday, 2-0 over Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat in La Liga.
Da Silva opened the scoring 10 minutes after halftime and Carlos sealed a road win - Zaragoza's first of the season - in stoppage time. Zaragoza was winless in its first 11 road matches, with eight losses and three draws.
Real Zaragoza remained in last, eight points from safety, after its first win since October. Espanyol could have moved into the top four and a Champions League spot, but remained fifth.
Malaga 3, Mallorca 1
Malaga, Spain - Sebastian Fernandez, Jeremy Toulalan and Rondon scored to help Malaga overcame an early deficit for a 3-1 win over Mallorca on Sunday at the Estadio La Rosaleda in La Liga.
Pereira fired Mallorca in front after 4 minutes, but Fernandez pulled one back on 11 minutes, and Toulalan and Rondon scored in the second half to seal a win for Malaga.
Malaga pulled level on points with Atletico Madrid for sixth place and a place in the Europa League next season. Mallorca lost for the third time in its last five, and is just two points above the drop in 14th.
Rayo Vallecano 2, Getafe 0
Madrid, Spain - Michu and Diego Da Silva Costa scored on each side of halftime as Rayo Vallecano defeated Getafe, 2-0, at the Teresa Rivero to climb into the top half of the La Liga standings.
Vallecano, which has won two straight and three of its last five, climbed into 10th place, although its still just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Getafe lost its second straight, and fell one point behind Vallecano to 11th.
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ludovic Obraniak scored 3 minutes into injury time and Bordeaux escaped Stadium Lille Metropole with a 5-4 win over Lille on Sunday in Ligue 1, despite blowing a three-goal second-half lead. Nicolas Maurice-B
<< Bryant's late shot gets Lakers past Raptors
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant broke away from the double team of
James Johnson and DeMar DeRozan while Metta World Peace led him perfectly
into the right corner on the inbounds pass.
Bryant pulled up along the right base
<< Michigan uses balanced attack to beat Illinois
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hardaway, Jr. led a balanced attack with
15 points, as No. 22 Michigan downed Illinois, 70-61, at Crisler Arena.
Trey Burke added 14 points, Evan Smotrycz had 13 and Zack Novak totaled 12
points wit
<< Duke holds off Florida State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Haley Peters scored 18 points and the
fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils held off the Florida State Seminoles, 67-57.
Elizabeth Williams and Shay Selby added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for
the Blu
<< Clark lifts No. 12 Georgetown over St. John's
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Clark struggled mightily from the
floor, but provided two key baskets late, lifting No. 12 Georgetown to a 71-61
wire-to-wire win against St. John's.
Clark netted 11 points on just 1-of-8 shootin
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stefanie Yderstrom poured in a game-high 26 points and No. 6 Miami-Florida edged eighth-ranked Maryland, 76-74, on Sunday. Shenise Johnson netted 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds to go w
Suarez 'sorry' for latest incident with Evra >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool's Luis Suarez apologized Sunday
for refusing to shake hands with Manchester United's Patrice Evra prior to an
English Premier League match Saturday, admitting he made a mistake and that he
was "so
Panthers use strong second period to down Isles >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Jack
Skille tallied in the second period as Florida powered past the New York
Islanders, 4-1, at Nassau Coliseum.
Tyson Strachan also lit the lamp for the Pan
No. 4 Stanford crushes UCLA >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike netted a game-high 25 points
to go with eight rebounds as No. 4 Stanford ran over UCLA, 82-59, on Sunday.
Chiney Ogwumike finished with 19 points, while Toni Kokenis and Joslyn Tinkle
added
Rondo's triple-double helps Celtics hold off Bulls >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo recorded his ninth career triple-
double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, helping the Boston Celtics
hold off the Chicago Bulls, 95-91.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 boards f
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
