Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - 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 minute when he put Palermo in front. But Milito and Miccoli took over from there, with Milito leveling the contest six minutes later to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Miccoli restored the lead for the visitors by beating Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar at the far post in the 52nd minute, only for the Nerazzurri to come right back and answer from the penalty spot through Milito after Yuto Nagatomo was fouled inside the area by Palermo's Ezequiel Munoz.

Milito completed his hat trick just after the hour mark when he finished off a header from Esteban Cambiasso. But Miccoli responded when he tracked down a cross from Federico Balzaretti to nod the ball past Cesar from six yards.

Inter went back in front in the 68th minute when Milito netted his fourth goal with a bit of luck as Giampaolo Pazzini's scuffed shot deflected off the leg of the Argentina international and found the back of the net.

But with Inter poised to collect all three points, Miccoli finished off his own hat trick five minutes from time by racing on to a through ball from Josip Ilicic and slotting his shot past Cesar.

Inter has now claimed one point from its last two games after winning its previous seven, leaving the club eight points back of leaders Juventus.

Lazio 2, AC Milan 0

Rome, Italy - AC Milan missed out on a chance to move to the Serie A summit on Wednesday as the club sustained a 2-0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

Juventus held a one-point lead on second-place Milan and the end of last weekend, but the Old Lady had its match with Parma postponed on Tuesday because of snow, giving the Rossoneri a chance to take over the top spot.

But the visitors failed to take advantage as Lazio scored twice in the final 15 minutes to claim the win and move to within four points of Milan.

Hernanes netted the first goal in the 76th minute after being set up by Tommaso Rocchi, who tallied a goal of his own five minutes from time to seal the win.

Cagliari 4, Roma 2

Cagliari, Italy - Thiago Ribeiro scored a goal in each half as Roma's five- game unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday with a 4-2 defeat at Cagliari.

Ribeiro scored in the sixth minute for Cagliari, but Roma responded with goals from Juan and Fabio Borini to take a 2-1 lead.

Mauricio Pinilla leveled the match at halftime with his first goal for the club, and Ribeiro put the hosts in front a few minutes after the break before Albin Ekdal put the result away two minutes into stoppage time with a close- range tap in.

Napoli 0, Cesena 0

Naples, Italy - Napoli's struggles continued on Wednesday as the club extended its winless streak to four games after a 0-0 home draw with relegation- battling Cesena.

Napoli now trails third-place Udinese by 11 points, with Cesena sitting in 19th place and three points from safety.

The hosts created the better chances throughout the match but were denied by some good goalkeeping from Cesena's Francesco Antonioli.

And Napoli was a bit unlucky in stoppage time not to claim all three points as Goran Pandev had a goal called back by referee Luca Banti seemingly for a foul in the build up.

Udinese 2, Lecce 1

Udine, Italy - Udinese gained ground on the Serie A leaders on Wednesday courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Lecce at the Stadio Friuli.

Michele Pazienza put the home side on the scoreboard inside of two minutes, with Lecce's David Di Michele answering back for his team midway through the opening half.

But Antonio Di Natale's 15th goal of the campaign came nine minutes before the break when Antonio Floro Flores played a square ball to the striker, who beat goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Udinese came close to adding to its lead in the second half, but still held on to move to within three points of Juventus at the top of the league.

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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.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*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."

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.