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Cisse's debut offers plenty of hope for NewcastleSoccer Betting Lines02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Papiss Cisse's Newcastle debut may have come a bit earlier than expected, but he sure gave fans on Tyneside something to get excited about. The Senegal international was the most expensive signing in a subdued January transfer window when he moved from German side Freiburg to Newcastle for nearly $16 million. But the African Cup of Nations not only took Newcastle's leading scorer, Demba Ba, away from the club in January but would also delay the debut of Cisse. Newcastle was expected to struggle without Ba, who leads the club with 16 goals this season, but Senegal's early exit from the competition has been a big boost to the fortunes of the Magpies. Senegal was considered to be one of the top teams in the tournament, but stunning defeats to Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Libya saw the team crash out in embarrassing fashion. This paved the way for the early returns of Ba and Cisse, who both made major contributions in the club's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday. Cisse had just arrived earlier in the week and found himself on the bench for Sunday's match, with the chance that he might feature as a substitute in the second half. However, a knee injury to striker Leon Best just 14 minutes into the contest paved the way for Cisse, who got a warm reception from the fans at Sports Direct Arena upon his arrival. And the 26-year-old didn't disappoint, generating a few decent scoring chances before capping his debut with a moment of brilliance. With the game tied at 1-1, Jonas Gutierrez crossed the ball from the left wing to Cisse at the edge of the penalty area. He took the ball down off his chest and in one smooth motion, found the upper corner of the net with a left-footed strike that was pure genius. It was a goal that was worthy of a match-winner, and gave Newcastle fans a glimpse of what could be a very promising future. Early this season Newcastle found itself in the top five in the EPL table because of a stingy defense that yielded only four goals in its first seven games. But injuries to the back line, including a season-ending one to Steven Taylor, has since seen the opposition find the back of the net more frequently, bringing about concerns that Newcastle simply doesn't have enough firepower to keep up. Ba has enjoyed a stellar campaign for Alan Pardew's men with 16 goals, but after the former West Ham man, Best is next on the list with four goals to his name. The arrival of Cisse provides a potent strike partner for Ba, who should benefit from playing alongside another proven scorer. Cisse notched nine goals in 17 Bundesliga games for Freiburg prior to his arrival on Tyneside this season, which follows a campaign in which he finished second to Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez on the German scoring chart with 22 goals in 32 games. The 26-year-old has yet to prove that his prolific scoring prowess will transfer to the Premier League, but Sunday's highlight-reel goal is a good start. Ba and Cisse together give Newcastle the potential for one of the top strike partnerships in the Premier League, and have fans dreaming of a place in Europe for next season. Following Sunday's 2-1 win, Newcastle sits in fifth place and just one point back of fourth-place Chelsea. There is still plenty of work to be done to secure a European berth, but the arrival of a player like Cisse could be the kind of difference-making move necessary to put Newcastle over the top.
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO- AM - Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill Golf Club, Pebble Beach, California - One might look at this week's field for the
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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2. Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com. 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. *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." About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs. |
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