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09/10/2010 - Lens, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With four successive draws to start the Ligue 1 season, Lille's Ludovic Obraniak is hoping that Saturday's derby match with Lens at the Felix-Bollaert Stadium will be enough to help his team raise its level of play and claim its first win of the season.
Lille has scored just two goals in its first four games, but Obraniak feels that this rivalry match is coming at a good time.
"We've started a bit slowly like we did last year," he told the league's official website. "The derby has perhaps come at the perfect time for us to set the record straight and win our first game of the season.
"We know it won't be an easy game because we all know how intense the Lille- Lens derby is and especially playing away. Lens have been playing with more or less the same squad for a few seasons now and they're proving very hard to play against this term. I think it will be a good game and a chance for us to get a good result."
Lille manager Rudi Garcia will also be hoping for the return to health of three players who missed the team's draw with Nice last time out as Tulio De Melo and Franck Beria and Obraniak each missed the game because of ankle problems.
Lens also enters Saturday's match with four points from four games, with the lone win coming against promoted side Arles.
Both David Pollet and Geoffrey Doumeng are expected back for manager Jean-Guy Wallemme, while Gregory Sertic, who joined the club on loan from Bordeaux, could be set to make his debut for Lens.
Toulouse is the only team in France with four wins from four games and the club puts its perfect record on the line at home against St Etienne, while Rennes, which sits four points back in second place, entertains Sochaux.
Montpellier has started well with eight points from four games and it gets ready to host Nancy, Lyon has just one win in four games and tries to get back on track against Valenciennes, Caen travels to Auxerre and Arles, which has lost all four of its matches, visits PSG.
Sunday's slate of games includes Brest hosting Lorient, Bordeaux visiting Nice and Marseille taking on Monaco.
<< United braces for hostile Everton crowd
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United has had plenty of
success against Everton at Goodison Park over the years, but United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson never looks forward to making the trip.
"It's always a nightmar
<< Transfer Flowers cleared to play for Illinois State
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive back Bo Flowers, an Illinois transfer,
was cleared by the NCAA to compete immediately for the Illinois State
Redbirds, the team's athletic department announced.
Flowers, a graduate student at Illinois
<< Playoff Pickups
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's playoff time in the world of fantasy
baseball and if your lineup needs a little boost because some of your veterans
haven't performed up to par, then you should be scouring the waiver wire.
Fortunate
<< Bills place Mitchell on IR, sign Ayodele
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have placed linebacker
Kawika Mitchell on injured reserve because of a foot injury and signed veteran
linebacker Akin Ayodele to fill the roster spot.
Mitchell was hurt in practice on
Milan ready to unveil Ibrahimovic against Cesena >>
Cesena, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan made a big statement in its 4-0
opening-weekend win over Lecce, while defending champions Inter Milan and
runners-up, Roma, both were held to 0-0 draws.
Now, Milan is set to add to its big
South Carolina CB Culliver cleared >>
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina senior cornerback Chris
Culliver will be back on the field when the Gamecocks host 22nd-ranked Georgia
on Saturday.
Culliver, who earned Second-Team All-SEC honors as a junior safety
Celtic aims to continue perfect start against Hearts >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Celtic welcomes Hearts to Parkhead
on Saturday the Hoops will not only be trying for their fourth win in four
games to start the season, but also to keep manager Neil Lennon's record in
charge
Huber, Petrova reach U.S. Open doubles final >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A second-seeded tandem of American
Liezel Huber and Russian Nadia Petrova posted a semifinal victory Friday at
the 2010 U.S. Open.
Huber-Petrova reached the women's doubles finale with a 6-3,
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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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.
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