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04/25/2009 - Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Halil Altintop's goal in the 21st minute was enough to lead Schalke to a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Bayern was the more dangerous team over the course of the match but it only took one corner kick from Christian Pander to decide the contest.
The Schalke defender curled a ball into the middle of the box and Altintop was left open in front of goal to head past goalkeeper Jorg Butt.
The result leaves Bayern in third place, one point back of Hertha Berlin and three behind leaders Wolfsburg, who can extend their advantage to six points with a win at Energie on Sunday.
Schalke sits in sixth place after the victory but is still five points from a place in the top five.
A slow opening 20 minutes gave way to Schalke seizing the lead in the 21st minute from Altintop's header after some poor marking by the home side, but they generated two good chances to close out the first half.
The first arrived in the 36th minute when Franck Ribery dribbled into the box on the right and stabbed a quick shot for the near post, which was kept out by a good reaction stop from Manuel Neuer.
The Schalke goalkeeper was left standing minutes later from a free kick as Jose Ernesto Sosa's shot took a slight deflection off the Schalke wall and struck the crossbar, but the keeper watched it sail safely over the net.
Things turned ugly in the second half as Schalke was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes to play when Jermaine Jones picked up a second yellow card for a hard foul on Bayern's Mark van Bommel, while Ribery evened up the numbers six minutes later when he too was sent off for a terrible tackle on Jefferson Farfan.
Bayern still had a chance to grab a point in the final minutes but Hamit Altintop fired over from the top of the box and Ze Roberto's cross was deflected just wide of the post.
Hamburg could have joined Wolfsburg on 57 points with a win but they fell 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund, while Stuttgart's winning ways continued with a 2-0 triumph over Eintracht that lifts the club to fourth in the table.
Hannover downed Koln 2-1, Sebastian Langkamp scored in the 72nd minute to give last-placed Karlsruhe a surprise 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen, and Werder Bremen recorded a 3-2 win over Bochum as the they scored three times in the second half to overcome a 2-0 halftime deficit.
<< Nadal cruises into Barcelona final for rematch with Ferrer
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal continued his domination on
clay with a straight-set victory over Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals of
the Barcelona Open and will take on fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in a rematch
of last
<< USA dispatches Latvia in World Championship opener
Bern, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Johnson tallied twice, including the
game-winner late in the second period, as Team USA opened its 2009 World
Championship slate with a 4-2 win over Latvia.
Drew Stafford and Patrick O'Sulliva
<< Carver steps down at TFC
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC announced Saturday that head coach
John Carver has tendered his resignation with the club for personal reasons.
His resignation will take effect immediately.
Carver was hired as head coach on Feb
<< Jazic added to Goat's disabled list
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Ante Jazic has been added to Chivas
USA's disabled list, making the player ineligible for at least six league
matches.
Jazic, 33, suffered a concussion during preseason training on March 11 and
Australia won't go to India for Davis Cup >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennis Australia has decided not to
travel to India for next month's Davis Cup zonal matchup in Chennai because of
security concerns.
The International Tennis Federation rejected Tennis Australia's
Mets sign Lamb to minor league deal >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have signed infielder Mike
Lamb to a minor league contract.
Lamb is expected to report to extended spring training before heading to
Triple-A Buffalo.
The 33-year-old veteran is a
Stunning rally propels United past Spurs >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United scored five goals in
the second half to record a thrilling 5-2 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford
on Saturday.
First-half goals from Darren Bent and Luka Modric put Spurs up
Montoya captures first Sprint Cup pole at Talladega >>
Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Pablo Montoya won his first career pole
in the Sprint Cup Series in Saturday's qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
Montoya grabbed the top starting position for the Aaron's 499 after turning in
a lap a
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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