Juve hopeful of returning to win column

Soccer Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus may be unbeaten in 22 Serie A matches this season but the club enters the weekend in second place, one point back of leaders AC Milan.

It is impressive to go 22 games without a loss, but the fact that 10 of those 22 contests have ended in draws still leaves room for improvement.

Manager Antonio Conte saw his side held to a 0-0 draw by Parma on Wednesday, preventing the Old Lady from returning to the top of the league.

And although Juve still has a game in hand on Milan, the club needs to make a habit out of collecting three points at a time in order to claim its first league title since the 2002-03 campaign.

Conte will be hoping that his side can return to winning ways on Saturday against Catania, which will be buoyed by a 4-0 victory over Genoa last time out.

Juve has failed to score in its last two league games so improvement in front of goal will be required, while Catania will look to move further up the table after climbing nine points above the drop zone.

Milan will try to maintain its lead at the top of the league with a win at second-from-the-bottom Cesena, which owns only one point from its previous four games, while Lazio aims to keep hold of third place by securing a win at Palermo.

Udinese has lost three of its last four matches and will try to snap that poor run of form with three points against Cagliari, Roma welcomes Parma to the Stadio Olimpico, Lecce and Siena square off in a match rife with relegation implications, Genoa meets Chievo with both sides trying to stop two-game losing streaks while last-place Novara tries to build on its 1-0 upset of Inter Milan with three more points against Atalanta.

Cbssporysline Soccer Betting News

<< Farrington named VMI's defensive coordinator
Lexington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - VMI named Jeff Farrington as the new defensive coordinator of its football program on Friday. Farrington became Mercer University's defensive coordinator last July as it builds a program that will debut in 20

<< Hiddink appointed as Anzhi boss
Makhachkala, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala continued its free-spending ways by landing former national team manager Guus Hiddink as head coach on Friday. Hiddink, 65, brings a wealth of experience to the

<< The Sixth Man: James can't go home again
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When LeBron James "took his talents to South Beach," he didn't burn his bridge out of Cleveland, he napalmed it. So, any time the world's best basketball player is scheduled to return to the Forest City, i

<< Rangers tries to bounce back from tough week
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers hopes of defending its Scottish Premier League title were dealt a massive blow this past week as the club entered administration amid growing financial woes. Ally McCoist's team ended las

<< Azarenka, Stosur into Doha semis
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka and U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur were a pair of quarterfinal victors Friday at the $2.168 million Qatar Open. The Australian Open champion Aza

Boilesen suffers another injury setback for Ajax >>
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax defender Nicolai Boilesen will be spending more time on the sidelines after he sustained another hamstring injury in his team's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursda

Montpellier has 'score to settle' at PSG >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montpellier has matched free-spending PSG for much of the season, but Sunday's visit to the Parc des Princes could determine whether the Ligue 1 title race will be over before March. PSG spent well over $100

Team Atlanta looks to repeat at Haier Shooting Stars event >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks' All-Star Joe Johnson, Atlanta Dreams' Lindsay Harding and former Hawks' All-Star Steve Smith will try to become the first repeat winners of the Haier Shooting Stars event on February 25 at A

Preds acquire veteran D Gill from Habs >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators added depth to their defense on Friday, acquiring veteran rearguard Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft from Montreal. The Predators sent forwards Bla

Sundhage names Algarve Cup roster >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage has named her preliminary 23-player roster that will travel to the 2012 Algarve Cup in Portugal, it was announced Friday. Sundhage fielded a stron

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

MySportsbook.com is a must-have for the smart veteran sports investor who enjoys following the odds almost as much as betting them. Simply put, no one offers more betting options and offers them faster than MySportsbook. This football sportsbook is known for its ability to set the early market odds on events without having to worry about weak lines. Professional players are well aware that getting a crack at the early betting line is worth as much as, and sometimes more than, huge bonuses or reduced prices. MySportsbook's fearless, yet smart bookmaking style is what keeps everyone watching, including most other sportsbooks.

This is also a great choice for those who just want to have a worry free, fun experience. The ownership’s motto is “Sweat the game, not the payout”. These are not just decorative words used to fill space on the homepage. MySportsbook aims to give their customers the fastest withdrawals in the industry. Payouts are processed within 24 hours by an online sportsbook that carries our A+ financial rating.

Those who enjoy proposition and future wagers consider MySportsbook.com a top choice. Smaller players who seek large bonuses would do better at their sister book, Sportsbooks.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.