PSG tries to remain perfect under Ancelotti

Soccer Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlo Ancelotti is perfect in four matches in charge of PSG and the rebuilt French club hosts Evian on Saturday in search of their sixth in their last seven games overall.

With more than $100 million spent on transfers last summer, and reinforcements added this winter in Brazilians Alex, Maxwell and Thiago Motta, Ancelotti will have enough firepower to remain atop Ligue 1.

Ancelotti, who spent his three previous managerial stints at Chelsea, AC Milan and Juventus, remains cautious because "our main rivals are Montpellier, but I am wary of Marseille, who have so much quality and experience."

PSG leads second-place Montpellier by three points, while Marseille sits nine points off the pace in fifth place.

But even with his new side off to a great start, Ancelotti realizes a lot can happen in the last 17 matches of the season.

"Everything is going well. I have a squad of young and motivated players who treat me with respect, without doubt because I have won lots of titles," said Ancelotti.

"But I still want to improve my relationship with the players. I like to speak with the players, enjoy myself with them sometimes. In football, there is a time to concentrate on work and a time when you need to relax."

Evian sits mid-table, but just four points above the drop zone as it looks for its first road win of the season at the Parc des Princes.

Montpellier is also at home Saturday against Brest, while surging Ajaccio will try to make it five straight wins when it hosts Nice.

In Saturday's other matches, Dijon hosts Valenciennes, Nancy hosts Rennes, St Etienne hosts Lorient, and Bordeaux hosts Toulouse. Due to severe weather, the times for many of the matches have been adjusted, and some could be postponed.

Marseille has six wins during a seven-game undefeated run ahead of its Olympic clash with Lyon on Sunday. Lyon sits one point ahead of Marseille in fourth.

Although PSG has established itself atop the table, Lyon coach Remi Garde will not concede the title.

"There are several teams that can win the title but I don't think any one side really stands out," he said. "I don't hide my desire to one day win the French title.

"We want to go all the way and I hope we will be competing for the title right down to the wire."

Caen hosts Auxerre, and Sochaux hosts defending champion and third-place Lille in Sunday's other matches, which are also in danger of being postponed due to the extreme cold blanketing Europe.

Wwwsunsentinel Soccer Betting News

<< Youzhny, Baghdatis land in Zagreb final four
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny and former champion Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus were a pair of quarterfinal winners Friday at the Zagreb Indoors tennis tournament. Youzhny needed 2 hours, 42

<< Report: Rays win arbitration case against Niemann
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rays have won their arbitration case with towering right-hander Jeff Niemann, the Tampa Bay Times reported Friday. The 6-foot-9 Niemann, who turns 29 later this month, will earn $2.75 million this

<< Dortmund downs Nurnberg to take Bundesliga lead
Nurnberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastian Kehl and Lucas Barrio scored in the second half as Borussia Dortmund downed Nurnberg, 2-0, on Friday to return to top of the Bundesliga. Defending champion Dortmund broke a three-way tie on poin

<< Snow threatening weekend schedule in Italy
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heavy snow in Italy is threatening to wreak havoc with the 22nd round of Serie A fixtures this weekend as one match has already been postponed and others have been moved. Four midweek matches were post

<< Youzhny reaches Zagreb final four
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner Friday at the Zagreb Indoors tennis tournament. Youzhny needed 2 hours, 42 minutes to stave off eighth-seeded massive-serving

Pats list Gronkowski as questionable >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is listed as questionable on the team's injury report for Sunday's matchup against the New York Giants. Gronkowski's left ankle has been the main inju

Magic suspend Glen Davis 2 games >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic suspended forward Glen Davis two games for conduct detrimental to the team, general manager Otis Smith announced Friday. Davis, who was acquired during the offseason via a trade with

D.C. United waives forward Brettschneider >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United waived 22-year-old forward Blake Brettschneider on Friday after just one season with the club. Brettschneider was picked 21st overall in the 2011 Supplemental Draft by D.C., and played in 1

Ronaldo poised to lift Real Madrid against Getafe >>
Getafe, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - La Liga leading-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team face Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday, and if history is any indication, the Portuguese superstar could be in line for an

Oden has yet another knee surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden underwent successful knee surgery on Friday. The athroscopic procedure was performed in Vail, Colorado and cleaned out debris inside his right knee. Oden

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.


$12,000,000.00 MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CONTEST

2009 MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CONTEST

Offering $12 Million Dollars to whoever fills in the perfect March Madness Bracket. For the fifth year in a row MySportsbook.com is giving March Madness bettors a chance to never have to work another day in their lives. MySportsbook.com has been in business for 12 years and to celebrate this years March Madness they are offering $1 Million Dollars for every year they have been taking college basketball wagers along with every other sports wagering type imaginable.

The MySportsbook.com March Madness contest is simple just Sign-up for the March Madness bracket contest and come back after Selection Sunday to submit your March Madness picks. Then place $20.00 in wagers during each round of the March Madness tournament. Even if your bracket is not perfect you could potentially still win $10,000.00.

There is not an office pool on the planet that can offer this March Madness Grand Prize. Get together with your office, work as a team or keep the $12 Million and do it yourself and win the $12 Million. Also feel free to print out the Printable March Madness Brackets .

Get free 2009 March Madness Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online March Madness betting VISA Mastercard