Arsenal held by Bolton at the Reebok
Soccer Betting Lines
02/01/2012 - Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal extended its winless run after it was held to a 0-0 draw at Bolton in Premier League play Wednesday.
The Gunners had lost three straight league games heading into their clash against the Trotters, but a staunch Bolton defense ensured that Arsenal would not claim its first win since the turn of the new year.
Despite the deficiency in goals, neither team was devoid of scoring opportunities at the Reebok.
David N'Gog almost shocked Arsene Wenger's men in the first half after latching on to a bouncing ball in the box. N'Gog slipped past Laurent Koscielny and was one-on-one with Wojciech Szczesny, but the French winger failed to control the ball cleanly as he pushed his effort just wide of the post.
Robin van Persie came within inches of putting Arsenal in front 10 minutes from time. The Dutchman sailed a late shot toward goal over the head of goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, but it rattled the crossbar and was cleared to safety by the Bolton defense.
The Trotters had a penalty shout down the stretch when Mark Davies found himself through on goal. The midfielder was tugged by Per Mertesacker and tripped up by Szczesny, but no call was given.
The match finished scoreless, dooming Arsenal to a four-game winless run.
The Gunners slip to seventh place in the Premier League after Newcastle claimed a 2-0 win over Blackburn on Wednesday. The Magpies move into fifth place on 39 points, one point ahead of Liverpool in sixth place and two ahead of Arsenal in seventh.
Bolton remains one spot above the relegation zone, but moves two points clear of 18th place following Blackburn's loss to Newcastle. The Trotters sit fourth from bottom on 20 points.
Newcastle 2, Blackburn 0
Blackburn, England - Newcastle climbed into fifth place in the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat of Blackburn at Ewood Park on Wednesday.
Scott Dann conceded an own goal in the 12th minute to put the Magpies in front. Blackburn was left to rue a missed penalty kick from David Dunn in the 44th minute as Gabriel Obertan added a second goal for Newcastle at the death to secure all three points.
The Magpies jump ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool in the EPL table and into fifth place on 39 points. Blackburn, meanwhile, remains in the relegation zone with just 18 points.
Fulham 1, West Bromwich 1
London, England - Clint Dempsey continued his good form Wednesday, but it was not enough to overturn the Baggies as Fulham and West Bromwich played to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.
The American international bagged his 10th goal of the Premier League season in the 69th minute, but Somen Tchoyi scored eight minutes from time with his first goal of the season to see West Brom and Fulham split the points.
The draw sees the two clubs remain just one point apart, as the Cottagers improve to 27 points compared to 26 points from the Baggies.
Sunderland 3, Norwich City 0
Sunderland, England - Sunderland cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Norwich City at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday to continue its good form under Martin O'Neill.
Fraizer Campbell, Stephane Sessegnon, and an own goal from Daniel Ayala saw the Black Cats claim their sixth win from their eight matches under O'Neill.
Sunderland moved into eighth place on 30 points, one point better than Norwich City, which is tied with Everton for the 10th position in England's top flight.
Aston Villa 2, QPR 2
Birmingham, England - QPR threw away a two-goal advantage on Wednesday as Aston Villa stormed back to claim a point in a 2-2 draw at Villa Park.
New QPR signing Djibril Cisse opened the scoring in the 12th minute, a lead that was doubled in the 29th minute following an own goal from Stephen Warnock. But the Villans battled back thanks to goals from Darren Bent and Charles N'Zogbia in the 45th and 79th minutes, respectively.
QPR moves three points clear of the relegation zone on 21 points, while Villa continues its search for a place in the top half of the table as it sits in 12th place on 28 points.
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir has retired, the team announced Wednesday. Muir was named the Chiefs offensive coordinator prior to last season after spending the previous two year
<< 2012 debut for Animal Kingdom decided
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winner Animal Kingdom will begin
his four-year-old campaign later this month at Tampa Bay Downs. Team Valor's .
Barry Irwin and trainer Graham Motion announced the decision in a press
release
<< NHL fines Boulton, Boll $2,500 each
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League on Wednesday fined
New Jersey Devils forward Eric Boulton and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared
Boll $2,500 for separate incidents.
Boulton was docked for his slash on New Yor
<< Umenyiora fined $20k for missing media session
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants defensive end Osi
Umenyiora was fined $20,000 for missing a mandatory 45-minute interview
session with the media on Wednesday.
Umenyiora said in a statement issued by the G
<< New record purse for Daytona 500
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Officials from Daytona International
Speedway announced Wednesday a record purse of more than $19 million for the
February 26 season-opening Daytona 500.
The purse for NASCAR's most prestigious
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Missouri State, Saint Louis and UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour has died after his battle with lung disease. He was 72. Spoonhour began his coaching career at Missouri State in 1983 -- then kn
Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan
while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San
Siro on Wednesday.
Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minu
Gronkowski misses another practice >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob
Gronkowski missed another practice Wednesday because of the left ankle injury
he suffered in the AFC Championship Game.
Gronkowski has yet to practice in prepar
Ticats release RB Cobourne, two others >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats cut running back
Avon Cobourne loose on Wednesday, along with two other players.
Cobourne helped the Montreal Alouettes to a pair of Grey Cup titles in
2009-10, and earn
Carlin named Coastal Carolina's defensive coordinator >>
Conway, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Coastal Carolina head football coach Joe
Moglia announced Wednesday that Clayton Carlin has been named the
Chanticleers' defensive coordinator.
Carlin has spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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