Lescott helps City regain EPL lead

Soccer Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joleon Lescott scored the lone goal in the 63rd minute, Joe Hart capped his 11th shutout with a brilliant one-handed save in stoppage time, and Manchester City defeated Aston Villa, 1-0, at Villa Park on Sunday to regain first place in the English Premier League.

City lost its perch atop the table Saturday, as rival Manchester United downed Liverpool 2-1 to reach the summit. With just one road win in its last six away from home, City responded the way a championship contender should.

Although far from a dominant performance, Hart stayed solid in goal behind the top defense in the Premiership, and Lescott scored his second goal this season to secure a full three points on the road for City.

City climbed two points clear of United, and along with United and Tottenham, continue to pull away from the rest of the league with just 13 games left this season.

Manchester City got off to a solid start, as Sergio Aguero forced a save early and Adam Johnson drilled the right post from 24 yards inside 30 minutes.

City's breakthrough came soon after halftime, as a left-wing cross to the far side of the area was nodded back into the middle by Emile Heskey, and Lescott adjusted for a waist-high shot from 7 yards to beat Villa goalie Shave Given.

Villa had its chances late to grab a point, non better than when Bent fired a shot from about 6 yards that Hart denied on the line with a lunging stop with his right hand.

While City ended its road woes, Villa slumped to its second straight defeat as it slipped to 15th and sits just seven points above the relegation zone.

West Bromwich 5, Wolverhampton 1

Wolverhampton, England - Peter Odemwingie scored a hat trick as West Bromwich continued its impressive road form with a 5-1 win over Wolverhampton on Sunday at Molineux Stadium in the English Premier League.

West Bromwich has six of its eight wins - and 21 of 29 points - on the road so far this season, as it sits eight points clear of Wolverhampton and the bottom three in 14th place.

Odemwingie opened the scoring in the 35th, and added his last two goals after the 75th. Jonas Olsson and Keith Andrews also scored for Wolves, which scored four of its goals after half.

Steven Fletcher scored his 10th goal of the season in first-half stoppage time as Wolverhampton leveled the game at 1-1, but West Bromwich's explosive second half left his squad 18th and just two points off the bottom of the table after its third loss in its last four.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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