Barca, Real title race heads to final week

Soccer Betting Lines

05/08/2010 - Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi scored his La Liga-leading 32nd goal Saturday, and Barcelona held off Sevilla 3-2 to maintain a one-point lead over Real Madrid atop the standings entering the final week of the season.

Bojan Krkic and Pedro also scored for Barca, which built a three-goal lead at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and held on against 10-man Sevilla. Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano scored two minutes apart in the second for Sevilla.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his sixth goal in his last three games, leading Real Madrid to a 5-1 win over 10-man Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu.

Barcelona took control of the match inside five minutes, when Messi finished a pass from Maxwell for the opener. Messi played Maxwell's short chip pass down off his chest, made a touch with his left foot and fired into the bottom right from 16 yards.

Barca doubled the lead before the half-hour mark, as Xavi put Krkic through on a first-time pass, and Krkic held off Sevilla's Abdoulay Konko to slot back to the far post in the 28th.

Konko was sent off in the 56th after receiving his second yellow, and Messi set up Pedro's goal in the 62nd when his shot was blocked at the top of the box. The rebound rolled to Pedro, who scored from the top of the area.

Fabiano set up Kanoute's goal in the 69th, and scored his own in the 71st, but short-handed Sevilla couldn't finish the comeback. Sevilla heads into the last week of the season in a battle with Mallorca for fourth and a Champions League berth. Sevilla is currently fourth, one points ahead of Mallorca.

In Madrid, Ronaldo converted a penalty kick in the 22nd after a red card to Bilbao's Fernando Amorebieta, but Real failed to hold the edge until halftime.

Francisco Yeste found the bottom left in the 41st from the top of the box, and Athletic pulled level to leave Real's title hopes in jeopardy.

Bilbao kept the match level at 1-1 for nearly 30 minutes, but Gonzalo Higuain scored in the 73rd minute for his team-high 27th goal, and Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Marcelo added goals in the final 15 minutes.

Riki scored in the 68th as Deportivo edged Mallorca 1-0. Mallorca remained one point behind Sevilla, as the teams battle for either a Champions League place or a Europa League berth in the final week.

Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente scored as Villarreal topped Valencia 2-0 to enter the final week in position to earn a Europa League berth. Villarreal is level on points with Getafe for sixth place.

Roberto Soldado and Pedro Leon scored as Getafe topped Malaga 2-1 to maintain pace with Villarreal.

Malaga enters the final weekend as one of five teams still fighting to avoid relegation. Malaga is level on points with Racing, Valladolid and Tenerife. Xerez is three points behind the group in last, with all five teams still in danger.

Also Saturday, Xerez edged Real Zaragoza 3-2, Gijon tied Atletico Madrid 1-1, Espanyol defeated Osasuna 2-1, Valladolid edged Racing 2-1, and Tenerife tied Almeria 2-2.

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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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