Argentina tops Greece to cap perfect group stage
Soccer Betting Lines
06/22/2010 -
Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Demichelis and Martin
Palermo scored late in the second half, helping Argentina complete a perfect
run through Group B of the FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over Greece on
Tuesday at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Demichelis scored the opener in the 77th minute and the 36-year-old Palermo
added his first-ever World Cup goal in the 89th, as Argentina won for the
third straight time in as many games to easily finish atop Group B. Greece was
eliminated with the loss.
Argentina plays Mexico on Sunday in the round of 16, while South Korea also
advanced from Group B with a 2-2 draw against Nigeria on Tuesday, and plays
Uruguay on Saturday in the first knockout round.
Argentina dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes, but outside of a few
half chances, failed to put Greece under any real pressure.
Sergio Aguero had a decent chance in the 18th minute for Argentina, but Greece
goalie Alexandros Tzorvas palmed the ball wide of the left post.
Juan Veron returned to the lineup after missing Argentina's 4-1 win over North
Korea and made his presence felt with a 40-yard blast that Tzorvas pushed high
in the 19th.
Diego Milito created a good chance for Argentina in the 32nd, but Tzorvas dove
to deflect his cross out of danger.
Maxi Rodriguez had an open look from the right side of the area in first-half
stoppage time, then Lio Messi followed with a dipping 20-yard shot seconds
later, but Tzorvas was able to save both to leave Argentina scoreless at
halftime for the first time through three games.
Greece opened the second half with its first shot when Georgios Samaras played
down a long pass to avoid Demichelis in the 48th, then curled a ball just wide
of the right post.
Clemente Rodriguez drove a pass into the area that Milito was unable to reach,
and Tzorvas easily grabbed the ball in the 57th. Clemente Rodriguez then fired
wide left one minute later on a long-range shot.
Messi curled a long shot wide right in the 69th, and Mario Bolatti unleashed a
bullet into the mid-section of Tzorvas from six yards to waste Argentina's top
chance seconds later off a corner kick.
Demichelis ended Argentina's frustrations with under 15 minutes left after he
headed an initial shot into Milito, then hammered the deflection home from the
edge of the six-yard box.
Messi nearly sealed Argentina's win in the 89th, but Tzorvas pushed his shot
wide and Palermo ran onto the rebound and easily slotted inside the right post
to overtake manager Diego Maradona as the oldest Argentine player to score in
the World Cup.
<< South Korea advances after draw with Nigeria
Durban, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Korea booked a spot in the
second round of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday as it earned a 2-2 draw with
Nigeria at Moses Mabhida Stadium in the final Group B contest for both teams.
Kalu
<< Carolina signs RW Samson
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes signed right wing
Jerome Samson to a two-year, two-way contract on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old led the Albany River Rats, Carolina's AHL affiliate, and was
tied for second in the AH
<< Lakers' Bynum to have more surgery next month
Los Angeles, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lakers center Andrew Bynum indicated
Tuesday he will undergo surgery in mid-July to repair a small tear in his
right knee.
The 22-year-old hyperextended the knee in Game 6 of the Western Con
<< Danica-mania returns to Nationwide at New Hampshire
Loudon, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, June
26. Race: New England 200. Site: New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Track: 1.058-
mile oval. Start time: 3:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 211.6. 2009 winner:
Kyle Busch.
<< Habs re-sign Plekanec to six-year deal
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have reportedly
given forward Tomas Plekanec to a six-year contract on Tuesday.
The Montreal Gazette cited a report from TSN of Canada that said the deal is
worth $30 million.
Let the race to the Sprint Cup Chase begin >>
Loudon, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, June
27. Race: Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Site: New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Track: 1.058-mile oval. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 301. Miles: 318.458.
2009 winner: Jo
Ravens, Hamlin agree to deal >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens signed safety Ken
Hamlin to a one-year deal on Tuesday.
Hamlin was released by the Dallas Cowboys in April.
The 29-year-old veteran will provide Baltimore with depth at the pos
Serena, Wozniacki, Sharapova roll; Stosur exits Wimbledon >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams began her quest for a
fourth Wimbledon title with an easy straight-set win over Portugal's Michelle
Larcher De Brito, while third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and former champion
Maria
NHL raises salary cap for 2010-11 season, extends CBA >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League on Tuesday
announced a salary cap increase of five percent for the 2010-11 season, while
also announcing the extension of the current collective bargaining agreement.
The
Alouettes sign former UNH quarterback Santos >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Walter Payton Award winner Ricky Santos
signed a contract Tuesday with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
Santos, the former University of New Hampshire quarterback who was named the
FCS' outstanding
NFL Football Trash Talk
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject
would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms.
Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends,
their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the
sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies
your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming
the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like
your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in
defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your
hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say,
will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt
focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea
is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to
make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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