Cologne snaps skid at Kaiserslautern

Soccer Betting Lines

02/05/2012 - Kaiserslautern, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday as Odise Roshi scored in the 72nd minute of a 1-0 Bundesliga win over 10-man Kaiserslautern at Fritz-Walter-Stadion.

Cologne had lost its last three matches by combined scores of 8-1, and striker Lukas Podolski - who leads the squad 15 goals - was lost to injury, but Ariel Borysiuk was sent off after 39 minutes for Kaiserslautern and Cologne pounced.

Roshi bagged his first goal of the season 18 minutes from time, shortly after coming on as a substitute, as he latched onto a Christian Clemens cross off a corner and headed home past Kaiserslautern goalie Kevin Trapp.

The goal came just over 1 1/2 minutes after Roshi entered the game and Cologne held on over the final 20 minutes to snatch its third road win this season.

Cologne climbed to ninth in the table on 24 points, ahead of Wolfsburg on goal differential. Kaiserslautern is winless in 10 straight and just one point off the foot of the table.

Freiburg 2, Werder Bremen 2

Freiburg, Germany - Jonathan Schmid notched the tying goal in 70th minute to spoil a brace from Claudio Pizarro and Freiburg tied Werder Bremen 2-2 at MAGE SOLAR Stadion on Sunday in the Bundesliga.

Pizarro put Bremen ahead just before the half hour, but Cedric Makiadi had the hosts level in the 31st. Pizarro handed Bremen its second lead in the opening minute of the second half, but Schmid equalized midway through the session.

Schmid's goal came off a well-struck shot that skipped off the hands of Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese, off the right post and in to answer Pizarro for a second time. Pizarro has 15 goals this season, just two behind leader Mario Gomez of Bayern Munich.

Freiburg remained at the bottom of the table, but climbed level on points with 17th-place Augsburg. Bremen sits fifth, but eight points out of fourth and the final Champions League berth.

Wwwlottoballs Soccer Betting News

<< Borini's brace powers Roma past Inter
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Fabio Borini helped Roma to a comfortable 4-0 win over Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. Juan put Roma in front after 13 minutes when he headed home Francesco Tott

<< United rallies to claim draw at Chelsea
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United fell two points back of Manchester City on Sunday, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side did well to claim a point at Stamford Bridge as the club rallied from three goals down to snatch a 3-3 dra

<< Penny signs with Japanese club
Fukuoka, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran pitcher Brad Penny has signed a contract to play with the SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, the team announced on its website. Penny spent last season with the Detroit Tigers, pitchi

<< Youzhny whips Lacko for Zagreb title
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian Mikhail Youzhny cruised past Slovakian Lukas Lacko in straight sets in Sunday's final at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event. The third-seeded world No. 39 Youzhny doused the unseeded Lacko 6-2,

<< Aceves, Red Sox avoid arbitration
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and pitcher Alfredo Aceves have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration with the 29- year-old relief pitcher. The deal is worth a reported $1.2 million with an add

Serbs overcome Belgians to reach Fed Cup SFs >>
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia got a tie-clinching doubles win from Bojana Jovanovski and Aleksandra Krunic on Sunday in order to reach the 2012 Fed Cup semifinals. The Serbs won their best-of-five quarterfinal against host Be

Celtics handle Grizzlies, earn fourth straight win >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett had 24 points and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics handled the Memphis Grizzlies, 98-80, at TD Garden. Paul Pierce added 21 points while Ray Allen and Chris Wilcox each netted 12 as the Celtics

Serena leads U.S. past Belarus >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams recorded a Sunday singles victory to move the United States into the Fed Cup World Group Playoffs. The 2011 U.S. Open runner-up Williams improved to 2-0 this week by overcoming Anastasia Y

No. 9 Michigan State defeats No. 23 Michigan >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Draymond Green had 14 points and 16 rebounds, as No. 9 Michigan State earned a convincing 64-54 win over No. 23 Michigan on Sunday. Keith Appling and Branden Dawson both added 10 points for the

Thomas lifts Bruins over Capitals >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas stopped 35 shots to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley each had a goal and an assist while Milan Lucic a

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

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.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com