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03/22/2009 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gerrard scored three times to lead Liverpool to a resounding 5-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday, reducing Manchester United's lead over the Reds to just one point.
United still has a game in hand but they have lost their last two games, while Liverpool is flying with four straight wins by a combined 15-1 score.
Aston Villa's Champions League hopes take another huge hit with the loss and the Villains are now three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal after a five- game winless skid.
The game got off to a great start for the hosts as Gerrard's free kick was deflected off the crossbar by the head of Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt smashed home the rebound after eight minutes.
John Carew almost had a response for Villa in the 25th minute when he turned a strong header on goal that forced Pepe Reina to make a great reaction save, but Liverpool went up two goals 10 minutes later.
Reina punted the ball long and the Villa defense failed to deal with it, allowing the ball to bounce once while Alberto Riera ran under it and ripped a volley off the underside of the crossbar and in.
The lead then grew to 3-0 before halftime as Riera got into the box and was brought down by Villa's Nigel Reo-Coker, allowing Gerrard to step to the penalty spot and send goalkeeper Brad Friedel the wrong way.
Things got worse shortly after the break when Gerrard found the bottom right corner from a free kick at the edge of the area, and Friedel's nightmare afternoon was complete when he brought down Fernando Torres inside the box, earning himself a straight red card.
Gerrard then completed his hat trick with another successful penalty kick, capping another comprehensive win for Liverpool.
Manchester City moved into 10th with a 1-0 win over 10-man Sunderland as George McCartney was sent off after 15 minutes, while Robinho missed a penalty kick five minutes later. However, City did eventually go ahead with Micah Richards scoring his first goal of the season in the 56th minute to win the game.
Sunday's other contest saw Wigan take over seventh place as Ben Watson scored in the 84th minute to give the Latics a 1-0 win over Hull City.
<< Naylor saves draw for Celtic
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic failed to take hold of the Scottish
Premier League as the Hoops needed an 80th-minute goal from Lee Naylor to
salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Sunday.
Celtic could ha
<< Blackhawks activate RW Sharp
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right
wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve.
Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt
in a February 14 game against San Jose a
<< BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
<< Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash
today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
showdown at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con
Not So Hard: Syracuse advances to Sweet 16 >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins
added 17, as Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a
78-67 victory over Arizona State at American Airlines Arena.
Rick Jackson chipped
Top-seeded Huskies cruise into second round >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles piled up 32 points and 11
rebounds, leading the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to a 104-65 rout over the
16th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charles
Guerrero's double helps Hamburg keep pace >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Paolo Guerrero scored two goals
in a four-minute span in the second half to lead Hamburg to a 2-1 win over
Schalke at Veltins Arena on Sunday.
Guerrero didn't crack the scoreboard until th
Biron, Flyers cool off Pens >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Biron made 27 saves to lead the
Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in an
important Eastern Conference playoff race matchup at the Igloo.
Simon Gagne and S
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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