Celtic, Rangers highlight SPL once again
Soccer Betting Lines
08/13/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers have combined to win the last 25 Scottish Premier League titles, so when the season kicks off Saturday, the only suspense is which Glasgow club wins this time.
Celtic has finished second the last two seasons behind Rangers, and both teams remain a cut above the rest of the SPL again this season, although both squads lost a number of players.
"The pressure is always the same for Old Firm managers," Ranger manager Walter Smith said. "Every other SPL manager would like to be in our shoes and it's only when you are there that you encounter the difficulties that managing one of the Old Firm throws up.
"The challenge is always there. Celtic had won three in a row and we have managed to win the last two so we obviously want to make it three and carry that on."
Rangers lost leading scorer Kris Boyd to Middlesbrough of the English Premier League and replacing the striker won't be easy. Boyd led the SPL with 23 goals last season and scored 101 goals in under 150 appearances for the club.
Coach Smith will also be without United States international DeMarcus Beasley, who remains without a club after being with the Scottish team from 2007-10.
Smith did add striker James Beattie, a former England international, from EPL side Stoke City this week, but one or two more additions are likely before the transfer window closes.
Kenny Miller, second on the team and third in the league with 18 goals, is now forced to pick up more scoring load alongside Beattie.
Rangers, which opens at Ibrox against Kilmarnock, lost just three matches last season and topped Celtic by six points. Celtic struggled last season but still finished 18 points ahead of third-place Dundee United.
Celtic, under first-year coach Neil Lennon, will have to replace more notable departures, including striker Robbie Keane, goalie Artur Boruc and defender Edson Braafheid. Keane and Braafheid were on loan from Tottenham and Bayern Munich, respectively, while Boruc transferred to Fiorentina. Midfielder Aiden McGeady joined the exodus Friday, transferring to Russian club Spartak Moscow.
Keane led the club with 12 goals last season, although he joined the team from the English club on loan at midseason.
The Bhoys, who open at Iverness, signed Cha Du-Ri, Gary Hooper, Efrain Juarez, Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley, Charlie Mulgrew and Daryl Murphy to compensate for the losses.
Lennon will have a hard time in his first year in charge, and with just a one- year contract, will also be battling for his job.
"From my point of view you always have a level of respect for Celtic managers and that hasn't changed. Neil is just starting out and my first managerial job was with Rangers so I know what he is going through," Smith said.
Rangers and Celtic will also try to contend in the Champions League, something that hasn't happened in recent years for the Scottish teams.
Also Saturday, Dundee United will try to take a step toward joining the SPL's elite when it opens at St. Mirren. In the day's other matches, Aberdeen hosts Hamilton and Hearts hosts St Johnstone. Motherwell hosts Hibernian on Sunday.
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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
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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.
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