Football Betting

Mexican captain Marquez leaves Barcelona

Soccer Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexican captain Rafael Marquez ended his seven-year stint at Barcelona on Saturday when he was released by the Spanish club.

Marquez, a teammate of Thierry Henry's at Barcelona, is reported to be on his way to New York to rejoin the Frenchman with Major League Soccer's Red Bulls.

"I think my time here has come to an end - I've always been ambitious and I want to be a regular starter. That can't happen here, so it's a good time to leave with my head held high and start a new challenge," Marquez said on Barcelona's website.

Since he joined Barcelona in 2003, Marquez made nearly 250 appearances for the club and won two Champions League titles and four La Liga crowns.

Marquez, a center back or defensive midfielder, has played nearly 100 matches for Mexico and is the captain of the national team. The 31-year-old has been a member of Mexico's national team since 1997.


<< Liverpool re-signs Brazilian defender Aurelio
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool re-signed Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio, who left the club two months ago when his contract expired, to a two-year contract on Saturday. New Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson offered Aurelio

<< Dallas ties Colorado to extend unbeaten streaks
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julien Baudet's own goal helped FC Dallas extend its road and overall undefeated streaks to eight matches with a 1-1 tie Saturday against the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Baudet deflecte

<< Bayne wins third consecutive Nationwide pole
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Bayne captured his third straight pole in Nationwide Series after winning Saturday's qualifying for the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Bayne's qualifying lap of 133.266 m.p.h. not only made him th

<< Harden activated from disabled list
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have reinstated pitcher Rich Harden from the 15-day disabled list to start Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Harden was placed on the DL June 12, one day after

<< Le Toux's eighth goal helps Union tie Revolution
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Le Toux scored his eighth goal of the season in the first half, but the Philadelphia Union settled for a 1-1 draw on Saturday at PPL Park against the New England Revolution. Marko Perovic equalized Le

Niemi awarded hefty increase in arbitration >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Antii Niemi has reportedly been awarded $2.75 million for next season from an arbitrator on Saturday. The Chicago Tribune is reporting a significant increase from the $800,0

St. Johnstone adds Haber on loan from West Brom >>
Perth, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Johnstone acquired striker Marcus Haber on loan from English club West Brom on Saturday. Haber, a 21-year-old Canadian, has yet to make a first-team appearance at West Brom. He spent parts of last seaso

Giants agree to terms with second-round pick Joseph >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have reportedly agreed to terms on a contract with defensive tackle Linval Joseph. Joseph was selected 45th overall by the Giants in this year's draft. The Star- Ledger reports t

Sunderland signs Richardson to extension >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland signed midfielder Kieran Richardson to a contract extension through the 2012-13 season on Saturday. Richardson, 25, joined Sunderland from Manchester United in 2007 and has made 85 appea

A Little Warm is hot horse in Jim Dandy Stakes >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Little Warm, ridden by John Velazquez, took the lead in mid-stretch on his way to winning Saturday's $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The 1 1/8-mile contest is the

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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