Arsenal held by Bolton at the Reebok

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal extended its winless run after it was held to a 0-0 draw at Bolton in Premier League play Wednesday.

The Gunners had lost three straight league games heading into their clash against the Trotters, but a staunch Bolton defense ensured that Arsenal would not claim its first win since the turn of the new year.

Despite the deficiency in goals, neither team was devoid of scoring opportunities at the Reebok.

David N'Gog almost shocked Arsene Wenger's men in the first half after latching on to a bouncing ball in the box. N'Gog slipped past Laurent Koscielny and was one-on-one with Wojciech Szczesny, but the French winger failed to control the ball cleanly as he pushed his effort just wide of the post.

Robin van Persie came within inches of putting Arsenal in front 10 minutes from time. The Dutchman sailed a late shot toward goal over the head of goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, but it rattled the crossbar and was cleared to safety by the Bolton defense.

The Trotters had a penalty shout down the stretch when Mark Davies found himself through on goal. The midfielder was tugged by Per Mertesacker and tripped up by Szczesny, but no call was given.

The match finished scoreless, dooming Arsenal to a four-game winless run.

The Gunners slip to seventh place in the Premier League after Newcastle claimed a 2-0 win over Blackburn on Wednesday. The Magpies move into fifth place on 39 points, one point ahead of Liverpool in sixth place and two ahead of Arsenal in seventh.

Bolton remains one spot above the relegation zone, but moves two points clear of 18th place following Blackburn's loss to Newcastle. The Trotters sit fourth from bottom on 20 points.

Newcastle 2, Blackburn 0

Blackburn, England - Newcastle climbed into fifth place in the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat of Blackburn at Ewood Park on Wednesday.

Scott Dann conceded an own goal in the 12th minute to put the Magpies in front. Blackburn was left to rue a missed penalty kick from David Dunn in the 44th minute as Gabriel Obertan added a second goal for Newcastle at the death to secure all three points.

The Magpies jump ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool in the EPL table and into fifth place on 39 points. Blackburn, meanwhile, remains in the relegation zone with just 18 points.

Fulham 1, West Bromwich 1

London, England - Clint Dempsey continued his good form Wednesday, but it was not enough to overturn the Baggies as Fulham and West Bromwich played to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.

The American international bagged his 10th goal of the Premier League season in the 69th minute, but Somen Tchoyi scored eight minutes from time with his first goal of the season to see West Brom and Fulham split the points.

The draw sees the two clubs remain just one point apart, as the Cottagers improve to 27 points compared to 26 points from the Baggies.

Sunderland 3, Norwich City 0

Sunderland, England - Sunderland cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Norwich City at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday to continue its good form under Martin O'Neill.

Fraizer Campbell, Stephane Sessegnon, and an own goal from Daniel Ayala saw the Black Cats claim their sixth win from their eight matches under O'Neill.

Sunderland moved into eighth place on 30 points, one point better than Norwich City, which is tied with Everton for the 10th position in England's top flight.

Aston Villa 2, QPR 2

Birmingham, England - QPR threw away a two-goal advantage on Wednesday as Aston Villa stormed back to claim a point in a 2-2 draw at Villa Park.

New QPR signing Djibril Cisse opened the scoring in the 12th minute, a lead that was doubled in the 29th minute following an own goal from Stephen Warnock. But the Villans battled back thanks to goals from Darren Bent and Charles N'Zogbia in the 45th and 79th minutes, respectively.

QPR moves three points clear of the relegation zone on 21 points, while Villa continues its search for a place in the top half of the table as it sits in 12th place on 28 points.

Broadacst Soccer Betting News

<< Chiefs offensive coordinator Muir retires
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir has retired, the team announced Wednesday. Muir was named the Chiefs offensive coordinator prior to last season after spending the previous two year

<< 2012 debut for Animal Kingdom decided
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winner Animal Kingdom will begin his four-year-old campaign later this month at Tampa Bay Downs. Team Valor's . Barry Irwin and trainer Graham Motion announced the decision in a press release

<< NHL fines Boulton, Boll $2,500 each
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League on Wednesday fined New Jersey Devils forward Eric Boulton and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll $2,500 for separate incidents. Boulton was docked for his slash on New Yor

<< Umenyiora fined $20k for missing media session
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora was fined $20,000 for missing a mandatory 45-minute interview session with the media on Wednesday. Umenyiora said in a statement issued by the G

<< New record purse for Daytona 500
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Officials from Daytona International Speedway announced Wednesday a record purse of more than $19 million for the February 26 season-opening Daytona 500. The purse for NASCAR's most prestigious

Charlie Spoonhour passes away >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Missouri State, Saint Louis and UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour has died after his battle with lung disease. He was 72. Spoonhour began his coaching career at Missouri State in 1983 -- then kn

Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday. Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minu

Gronkowski misses another practice >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski missed another practice Wednesday because of the left ankle injury he suffered in the AFC Championship Game. Gronkowski has yet to practice in prepar

Ticats release RB Cobourne, two others >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats cut running back Avon Cobourne loose on Wednesday, along with two other players. Cobourne helped the Montreal Alouettes to a pair of Grey Cup titles in 2009-10, and earn

Carlin named Coastal Carolina's defensive coordinator >>
Conway, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Coastal Carolina head football coach Joe Moglia announced Wednesday that Clayton Carlin has been named the Chanticleers' defensive coordinator. Carlin has spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator

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

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.