Bordeaux maintains edge over Montpellier

Soccer Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Costa scored in stoppage time, but Montpellier wasted a chance to take over the lead in France's Ligue 1, because Bordeaux goalie Cedric Carrasso saved two penalties in a 1-1 tie Sunday at the Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

Bordeaux, which played the final 58 minutes with 10 men, was saved by Carrasso and his two first-half penalty stops. He denied Costa in the 33rd, and Victor Montano in the 42nd.

Marouane Chamakh fired Bordeaux, which has played two fewer matches, into the lead in the 59th but Montpellier escaped with a point when Costa converted off a free kick in the final seconds.

Bordeaux leads the league on goal differential. Lyon is just two points behind in third.

Michael Ciani conceded the first penalty kick for a foul that earned him a red card, but Costa's left-footed attempt was saved in the middle by Carrasso.

Matthieu Chalme handed Montpellier another chance before halftime when he was called for a handball, but Montano's effort was saved at the bottom right.

Chamakh scored off a right-footed shot in the 59th to the bottom left, and the hosts were in position to earn all three points despite being short-handed.

Montpellier, which was just promoted to Ligue 1 this season, managed to escape with a point when Costa curled a left-footed shot into the lower-right corner.

Mamadou Niang scored his Ligue 1-high 15th goal but Marseille tied Lorient 1-1 at the Stade Velodrome. Marseille is fourth, just one point behind third-place Lyon, and three behind Bordeaux and Montpellier. Lorient is ninth.

Modibo Maiga scored five minutes into the second half and Le Mans earned a 1-1 tie at Grenoble in a battle of bottom-three clubs. Le Mans is five points away from safety, while Grenoble is 12 points away from safety in last place.

Boxig Soccer Betting News

<< Kurt Busch prevails in a wild one at Atlanta
Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Busch avoided tire issues and held off the field in a second green-white-checkered finish to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second year in a row. Busch squeezed his way from

<< Canucks rally in third to beat Preds
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jannik Hansen scored the game-winner in the third, as the Vancouver Canucks rallied for a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, while Alexander Edler and

<< UConn crushes Syracuse to tie record
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles tied a career-high with 34 points, as top-ranked Connecticut clobbered Syracuse, 77-41, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. It's the 70th consecutive win for the

<< Inter held to scoreless draw by Genoa
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at San Siro by Genoa on Sunday, the third time in its last four Serie A matches is has not scored. Inter has tied four of its last five matches in Italy's top flight, with th

<< Pate wins in Bogota
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Tour winner Steve Pate parred the second playoff hole Sunday to defeat Aaron Watkins and win the inaugural Bogota Open. Pate, the third-round leader, only managed an even-par 71 in the final rou

Pens down Bruins, who lose Savard >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin scored early in the third period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at Mellon Arena. Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who have won four straig

Villegas earns five-shot win at Honda Classic >>
Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas captured his third PGA Tour win on Sunday, leaving the rest of the field in the dust with a closing two-under 68 at the Honda Classic. The 28-year-old Colombian posted a 13-

Iginla's hat trick helps Flames beat Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla recorded his second hat trick of the season, as the Calgary Flames handled the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in a battle between Northwest Division foes at the XCel Energy Center. Iginla also dished out a

Magic survive Kobe, Lakers to win fifth straight >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored a team-high 25 points, and Dwight Howard added 15 points and 16 rebounds, as the Orlando Magic escaped with a 96-94 win over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last

NFL suspends free agent DT Ferguson >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has reportedly suspended defensive tackle Jason Ferguson for the first eight games of the 2010 season for a violation of the league's performance enhancing drug program

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!

Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter - All you have to do is play at least 10 hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host randomly hands out free bonuses ranging from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.

"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.