Twente closes gap to nine points

Soccer Betting Lines

03/22/2009 - Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twente revived its fading title hopes on Sunday with a 2-1 win over 10-man Groningen at Arke Stadion, while leaders AZ Alkmaar finished 0-0 with Feyenoord.

Groningen was reduced to 10 men just 12 minutes into the game as Andreas Granqvist was sent off, and the home side went in front in the 34th minute through Eljero Elia.

They maintained their one-goal advantage until the 72nd minute when Peter Wisgerhof found the back of the net, while Marcus Berg pulled one back for Groningen with a minute to play.

The visitors had their hopes of leaving with all three points severely damaged in the 12th minute when Granqvist was sent off for deliberately handling the ball to prevent Kenneth Perez from getting in on goal.

The subsequent free kick forced a good save from goalkeeper Luciano, while Perez followed up the play by smashing the ball off the crossbar.

Gonzalo Garcia should have put Groningen up when he hit the crossbar from a few yards out, but the miss would prove costly as the home side grabbed the lead before halftime.

Ronnie Stam crossed to Elia and he beat the keeper with an acrobatic bicycle kick, while Twente continued to pressure in the second half as Wisgerhof headed home a Perez free kick to make it 2-0.

Berg grabbed a goal for Groningen in the 89th minute, but it wasn't enough to prevent Twente from extending its unbeaten run at home to 18 games.

Roda got second-half goals from Andres Oper and Sekou Cisse to beat Den Haag 2-0, and Utrecht finished 0-0 with last-placed Volendam.

Wwwiisportsbook Soccer Betting News

<< Liverpool moves to within one point of United
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

<< Goya, 20, gets first European Tour win
Porto Santo, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Estanislao Goya held off Callum Macaulay to win the Madeira Islands Open on Sunday, closing with a two-over 73 in the final round to claim his first European Tour victory. Goya, a 20-year-old

<< 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

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

Utes put the clamps on 'Nova to advance >>
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalee Whipple scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds, leading the ninth-seeded Utah Utes to a 60-30 pasting of the eighth-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournam

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.

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

$12,000,000.00 MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CONTEST

2009 MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CONTEST

Offering $12 Million Dollars to whoever fills in the perfect March Madness Bracket. For the fifth year in a row MySportsbook.com is giving March Madness bettors a chance to never have to work another day in their lives. MySportsbook.com has been in business for 12 years and to celebrate this years March Madness they are offering $1 Million Dollars for every year they have been taking college basketball wagers along with every other sports wagering type imaginable.

The MySportsbook.com March Madness contest is simple just Sign-up for the March Madness bracket contest and come back after Selection Sunday to submit your March Madness picks. Then place $20.00 in wagers during each round of the March Madness tournament. Even if your bracket is not perfect you could potentially still win $10,000.00.

There is not an office pool on the planet that can offer this March Madness Grand Prize. Get together with your office, work as a team or keep the $12 Million and do it yourself and win the $12 Million. Also feel free to print out the Printable March Madness Brackets .

Get free 2009 March Madness Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online March Madness betting VISA Mastercard