Ziani doubles up on Nancy
Soccer Betting Lines
12/23/2006 - Montbeliard, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karim Ziani scored two second-half goals in a four-minute span to lift Sochaux to a 2-1 win over Nancy at Stade Bonal on Saturday.
The teams entered the contest separated by only one point, and it was the visitors who snatched the initiative. Sebastien Puygrenier put Nancy on top 1-0 in the 11th minute, but Ziani's four-minute blitz in the second half was enough to carry the day for the home side. Nancy was reduced to 10 men six minutes from time when Gaston Curbelo was shown a second yellow card, effectively stunting any comeback attempt by Nancy.
The win moves Sochaux into the top five heading into the new year, and in a great position to contend for a Champions League spot next season.
The Sochaux defense nearly coughed up a goal in the opening minutes as a miscommunication led to Nancy's Moncef Zerka taking possession of the ball in the Sochaux end and firing a shot from 18-yards out. Luckily for the hosts, the ball kissed the outside of the upright and sailed wide.
Nancy did move in front only a few minutes later on a well designed corner. Puygrenier got loose from his defender and nodded a well-placed cross past Teddy Richert to give his side a 1-0 advantage.
The goal seemed to spark the home side, as Sochaux took control of the match and nearly evened things before the break. Nancy keeper Gennaro Bracigliano did well to keep his team ahead as he turned away Julien Quercia's shot from close range with a sprawling stop.
Quercia was denied the equalizer again after the restart as he was sent through by Romain Pitau's pass. Quercia had the Bracigliano beaten, but his shot rattled off the crossbar and stayed out.
In the 61st minute, Sochaux found its much-deserved equalizer. A spot of brilliant individual skill from Alvaro Santos saw the striker beat two defenders and fire a shot on net. Bracigliano did well to stop it, but the rebound fell to Ziani, who slid it home to even things at 1-1.
Santos once again was the catalyst four mintes later, as another one of his dashing runs resulted in a penalty kick for Sochaux. He danced his way into the box and was brought down by Cedric Lecluse. Ziani then stepped to the spot and easily converted to put the home side ahead for good.
In other Ligue 1 action on Saturday, Lyon settled for a 0-0 draw with Monaco and Troyes and PSG also split the points in 1-1 fashion. Gerald Cid scored the lone goal for Bordeaux in their 1-0 win over Le Mans, Lille and Auxerre played to a 1-1 draw while both Lorient and Rennes took a point away from their 0-0 contest at Stade du Moustoir. Lens scored a pair of second-half goals to down Nice 2-1, Nantes blitzed Toulouse 4-0 and Valenciennes built an early two-goal lead before hanging on for a 2-1 win against Sedan.
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Shipp scored 18 points and Arron Afflalo added 17, leading top-ranked UCLA to a 92-55 rout of Michigan at Pauley Pavilion. Darren Collison contributed 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting with e
<< Senators send Flyers to ninth straight loss
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Alfredsson scored two of Ottawa's
three goals in the third period, as the Senators continued Philadelphia's
recent misery with a 6-3 victory over the Flyers at the Wachovia Center.
The Flyer
<< McCarthy shipped from White Sox to Rangers in multi-player trade
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas and the Chicago White Sox swapped
promising hurlers in a five-player trade completed Saturday, with standout
name Brandon McCarthy heading to the Rangers.
Texas also acquired 18-year-old outf
<< Memphis buries Middle Tennessee State
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doneal Mack scored 18 points to lead five
players in double figures, as 18th-ranked Memphis rolled to an easy 86-46
victory over Middle Tennessee at FedEx Forum.
Jeremy Hunt added 16 points and Ch
<< Redskins placed Washington on IR
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Washington's 2006 season officially came
to a close Saturday, as the Washington Redskins placed the linebacker on
injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in last Sunday's victory over New
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Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mario Chalmers scored 22 points and Julian Wright recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, as No. 11 Kansas jumped to a large lead by the half, then cruised to a 84-66 victory over Bo
South Florida cruises in inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benjamin Williams scored a pair of first-
quarter touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 24-7 victory over East Carolina
in the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl.
Matt Grothe threw for 81 yards and a touchdow
Davis leads LSU past La. Tech >>
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Davis had a game-high 23 points and 14
rebounds to lead the 12th-ranked LSU Tigers to a 68-52 victory over the
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Terry Martin added 19 points and Tasmin Mitchell added
Florida crushes Ohio State >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending champs gave Greg Oden a
lesson, as Corey Brewer played overwhelming defense and Taurean Green
scored a game-high 24 points in fifth-ranked Florida's 86-60 rout of third-
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Brother Derek big name in Malibu >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The $250,000 Malibu Stakes for three-year-
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Year's
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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