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09/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In case you haven't noticed, Italian soccer is not exactly flourishing.
Yes, the national team won the World Cup four years ago, and Serie A side Inter Milan became the first Italian team to win the treble just last season.
But after a dismal showing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that saw the Azzurri fail to advance beyond the group stage, Italy's national team could be in for some rough times, which was reiterated by the fact that they could only manage a 2-1 comeback win over Estonia in the first match of Euro 2012 qualification.
On the domestic front, Inter's Champions League victory last season was a major achievement, but it also came without one single Italian player on the field during the final win over Bayern Munich.
Also, the man who guided the team to its historic season, manager Jose Mourinho, bolted for Real Madrid at the end of the season, citing his disgust for the Italian league as a major reason why.
The quality of play in the league as a whole has taken a dramatic turn for the worse, as La Liga in Spain as well as the English Premiership have both moved past Serie A, with Germany's Bundesliga closing fast in the rearview mirror.
It wasn't too long ago that powerhouse Italian teams like AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus were the envy of the European game.
Those teams routinely attracted the top talent, with players like Zinedine Zidane, Brazilian great Ronaldo, and Luis Figo among others coming to Italy to play in the world's finest league.
Top Italian talent like goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, striker Roberto Baggio and defender Paolo Maldini also starred on these loaded clubs, which were regular finalists in the Champions League.
From 1990 to 1999, either AC Milan or Juventus represented Italy in the final of Europe's premier club competition seven times in 10 years.
In 2003, Serie A put three teams in the semifinals, while Milan also reached the final in 2005 and won the competition in 2007.
But those days now seem like ages ago as the economic downturn has hit Italy particularly hard, making it difficult for even top teams like Inter, Milan and Juventus to attract top-end talent.
Now, teams like Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid have their choice in the transfer market, while Italian sides wait to see what the leftovers look like.
The league itself has become extremely predictable in recent years as Inter has ruled Italy with an iron fist since the match-fixing scandal that relegated Juventus to Serie B.
Juve has not been the same team since its return to the top flight, while AC Milan has failed to live up to expectations, leaving Roma as the only side to seriously challenge Inter in league play.
And while the Nerazzurri has produced some good results in recent years, they have been criticized for their unappealing style of play, making it necessary for a new challenger to emerge from an underwhelming list of candidates.
Up until the end of August, Milan appeared to be a team headed for another top- three finish in the league, maybe a trip to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and another season of having to look across town at Inter winning another title.
But things shifted in the final week of the transfer window, as the Rossoneri was able to land two impact players who were deemed to be surplus to needs at powerhouse clubs.
Milan used to be a club that had trouble figuring out how to get all of its talent on the field at the same time, but have recently benefited from the fact that Barcelona and Manchester City have that trouble.
Barca's signing of Valencia striker David Villa over the summer made Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic excess to requirements, allowing him to be snapped up on loan from the Spanish giants for a reasonable price.
Then there is Robinho, the talented but sometimes troubled attacker. He was so unhappy at City last season that he forced a loan move to Brazilian side Santos, and he was able to get his permanent move away from England for a little over $30 million, or nearly $20 million less than City paid for him.
The additions of Ibrahimovic and Robinho have now transformed Milan from a team that sometimes struggles to score goals into a team that possesses an array of talented attacking options, and one that could potentially add a dash of excitement to an otherwise drab Serie A campaign.
Milan can now boast an attack that includes Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Pato and Ronaldinho, making them a formidable challenge for any opposing defense.
Another thing that makes Milan attractive is the fact that - unlike Inter - the team includes a number of Italian players, like Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini and Gennaro Gattuso.
The financial situation in Italy is not getting any better, and it is about to get much worse with Serie A potentially losing a Champions League place to the Bundesliga, and the millions of dollars that go along with it.
Werder Bremen's win over Sampdoria in a two-legged playoff in Champions League qualification ensured Italy of only three teams in this year's competition, while Germany also has three.
And as long as German sides like Bayern Munich and Schalke don't completely collapse in the group stage, it looks as though Serie A will need not only Inter to make a deep run in the competition, but also for Milan to have success as well.
Losing a Champions League place would be a big blow to an already reeling league, as well as to one of the premier soccer countries in the world.
The situation in Italy is not good at the moment, but Milan is equipped to help try and turn things back in the right direction.
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Russia vs. USA, 11 a.m.
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NL West supremacy on line in San Diego >>
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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