St Etienne eases relegation worries
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Etienne moved seven points clear of the bottom three on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Monaco at the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium.
Blaise Matuidi had the home side in front after 14 minutes, and goals from Gonzalo Bergessio and Emmanuel Riviere in the final 15 minutes sealed the win, which is only the second in 11 games for St Etienne.
Monaco could have moved into third with a win, but they are now sixth, level on 39 points with Auxerre and Marseille.
St Etienne entered the game without a goal in its last six home contests, but that streak came to an end in the 14th minute when some good work by Dimitri Payet allowed Matuidi to fire into the bottom corner of the net from 10 yards.
Bakary Sako came close to doubling the lead before halftime when his volley sailed inches wide of the post, while both goalkeepers needed to be alert to keep the match at 1-0.
St Etienne's Jeremie Janot kept out a good effort from Thomas Mangani, with Monaco netminder Stephane Ruffier doing well to keep out Bergessio's shot.
Ruffier was unable to prevent Bergessio from scoring 15 minutes from time, however, as he easily beat the keeper with a side-footed shot after a good pass from Riviere.
The hosts remained two goals ahead when defender Yohan Benalouane cleared a header off the goal line from Yannick Sagbo, and the lead was extended to three goals right before the final whistle with a great individual goal from Riviere.
Lyon remained in fourth place as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Toulouse, while Marseille pounded Valenciennes, 5-1.
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca took over fourth place in the La Liga table on Sunday as Jose Carlos Nunes scored in the 81st minute of a 1-0 win over Villarreal at the Son Moix Stadium. Mallorca entered the match having wo
<< Syracuse thumps Cincinnati on the road
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Rautins had 20 points, as third-ranked
Syracuse downed Cincinnati, 71-54, at Fifth Third Arena.
Kris Joseph had 17 points, while Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku each chipped
in with 11 points for t
<< Ohio State rallies in second half to clip Lady Lions
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis hit five three-
pointers and scored 26 points to pair with 12 assists, as No. 8 Ohio State
rallied from down 14 in the second half to secure an 86-73 win over Penn
State.
<< Ovechkin's hat trick keys Caps' OT comeback over Pens
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Knuble scored on the power-play with
2:11 remaining in overtime, and Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick, as the
Washington Capitals fought back from a three-goal deficit to edge Pittsburgh,
5-4, an
<< UConn rolls on with 46-point win
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles scored 20 points and Maya Moore
added 16, as top-ranked Connecticut demoralized Louisville on the road in an
84-38 romp at Freedom Hall.
The Huskies (23-0, 10-0 Big East) took a commanding 5
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the Stadio Friuli. Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed
NFL Inactives (Sunday, February 7, 2010) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 6:25 P.M. (ET)
Saints - 3rd QB Chase Daniel, TE Darnell Dinkins, RB Lynell Hamilton, T
Freeney active for Super Bowl >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney
is listed as active for the Super Bowl despite a right ankle injury.
Freeney hasn't practiced all week due to a third-degree sprain and torn
ligament in h
Sharks get D Wallin from Carolina >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks made a trade on Sunday,
acquiring defenseman Niclas Wallin and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft
from the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Wallin, a
Carter leads Magic over Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter led a balanced attack with 20
points and Dwight Howard logged 16 points and 13 rebounds despite battling
foul trouble, as Orlando rallied back from an 11-point halftime deficit to
beat Bo
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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