Manchester City signs Serbia defender Kolarov

Soccer Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City added its fourth new player of the offseason Saturday, signing Serbia defender Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio for $25 million.

Kolarov, 24, played two games for Serbia at the recent FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He will battle with England's Wayne Bridge to start at left back.

"I want two top-class players for each position," City manager Roberto Mancini said. "I first saw Kolarov when he made his Lazio debut back in 2007. He was composed on the ball had an excellent delivery with his left foot and was technically very able.

"I have watched him a lot since then and so have the Manchester City scouts. His attacking capability is very good. He is fast and can shoot with power and accuracy.

"He also has the ability to play in numerous positions and is very good in midfield."

Manchester previously signed Spain's David Silva, Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure and Germany's Jerome Boateng in deals totaling nearly $100 million.

Ccasion Soccer Betting News

<< Brazil names Menezes new coach
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazil named Mano Menezes the new coach of its national team Saturday, and signed him to a contract through the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Muricy Ramalho was the first choice to replace Dunga, w

<< Padres reinstate Latos from DL
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres reinstated pitcher Mat Latos from the 15-day disabled list to make Saturday's start against the Pirates. Latos was disabled on July 16, retroactive to July 9, with a strained

<< A's place Sheets on DL
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics placed starting pitcher Ben Sheets on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. The move is retroactive to July 20, and the team recalled pitcher Cedrick Bowers from Tri

<< Langer builds 3-shot lead at Senior British
Carnoustie, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer built a three-shot lead at the Senior British Open on Saturday after carding a two-under 69 in the third round. Chasing his first major on the Champions Tour, Langer finished

<< Montoya grabs pole for Brickyard 400
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Pablo Montoya captured the pole for the Brickyard 400 after posting the quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Montoya edged defending race winner Jimmie Johnson fo

Colvin, Castro hit HRs as Cubs nip Cards >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro homered to support six solid innings from Tom Gorzelanny as Chicago turned away St. Louis, 6-5, in the middle meeting of a three-game set. Castro finished with three h

Royals spoil Mitre's return to rotation in win over Yankees >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Podsednik went 3-for-4, scored once and drove a run in, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 7-4 win over the New York Yankees in the third installment of a four-game set. Jose Guillen added his 16th

Chelsea's Drogba out three weeks after surgery >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea striker Didier Drogba had surgery on Friday and will miss three weeks, putting his status for the start of the English Premier League season in doubt. Drogba had an groin operation to fix a pro

Isner advances to final in Atlanta >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded American John Isner advanced to the final of the Atlanta Tennis Championships after defeating Kevin Anderson in three sets. Isner will have an opportunity for his second career title against e

Liu becomes youngest U.S. Junior champion >>
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Liu earned a 4 & 2 victory over Justin Thomas on Saturday to become the youngest winner in the history of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Liu rallied from an early deficit and never trailed afte

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

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.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard

Pacific-10 Conference odds

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.