Greece faces huge challenge against Argentina
Soccer Betting Lines
06/21/2010 - Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greece was impressive in the final 57 minutes of its victory over Nigeria, scoring twice to overturn a deficit in its first-ever FIFA World Cup victory.
Dimitris Salpigidis notched Greece's first-ever World Cup goal, then Vasileios Torosidis added the match-winner, but both came after Nigeria's Sani Kaita was foolishly sent off.
Greece put itself in position to escape Group B, but entering its last game of the stage on Tuesday against Argentina at Peter Mokaba Stadium, will need some more luck to survive.
Argentina has been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament and sits atop the group after wins over Nigeria, 1-0, and South Korea, 4-1. Argentina only needs a draw to secure a spot in the knockout stage.
Even with three points from the surprising win over Nigeria, Greece could exit the World Cup without the right result against Argentina. South Korea also has three points from its 2-0 win over Greece, and Nigeria remains alive as well.
"Argentina are world-class, they're clearly better than us," Greece coach Otto Rehhagel said. "We still have a chance, but it'll be very hard.
"We're the underdogs against Argentina, that's for sure, but we'll give it our best shot."
Greece could even fail to advance with an upset win, depending on the result between South Korea and Nigeria on Thursday.
Argentina hasn't officially clinched a knockout-round berth, but would have to lose by a large margin to Greece and have South Korea win big over Nigeria for its World Cup to end after the group stage.
Coach Diego Maradona was under pressure in qualifying, as Argentina failed to secure a spot in the World Cup until the final matchday in South America, but after two games, appears to have his side in line to challenge for their first title since he led the team to its last crown as a player in 1986.
Gabriel Heinze scored six minutes into the opening win over Nigeria, and after an early own goal against South Korea, Gonzalo Higuain bagged the first - and only - hat trick of the tournament so far with a lot of help from Lio Messi.
"We're happy because we played a great game in every way: we played good football, we created chances and we were clinical in front of goal," Higuain said after the South Korea match. "We were deserved winners and we need to continue in this vein.
"We're convinced that we're capable of having a great World Cup."
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<< Winless Nigeria aiming to stay alive vs. S. Korea
Durban, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There aren't many teams that can
afford to lose the first two games at a World Cup and still have a chance at
advancing to the next round.
But that is exactly the situation for Nigeria when
<< Argentina patiently waiting its turn
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Behind a devastatingly skilled attack and
coached by a personality to match, it is a bit of a mystery as to how Argentina
has faded into the peripherals of South Africa.
Despite having won both its matches
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floor. Outside of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love up front and a solid
developmental point
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Springfield, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri State has extended the contract
of men's head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin.
The deal was approved by the University Board of Governors on Friday.
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
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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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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