12/04/2008 - Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zvjezdan Misimovic stole the ball off the feet of Portsmouth and England goalie David James to score the winning goal in Wolfsburg's 3-2 UEFA Cup win Thursday that sent the Germans into the next round and eliminated the English side.
Wolfsburg, AC Milan and Braga, which edged Heerenveen 2-1 on Thursday, secured the top three spots in Group E and berths in the knockout stage.
Hamburg, Aston Villa and Ajax wrapped up the top three spots in Group F, Saint Etienne and Valencia clinched in Group G and CSKA Moscow finished off a perfect run in Group H as nine of the 12 spots in the four groups were decided.
Wolfsburg and Portsmouth combined for four goals in the opening 23 minutes at Volkswagen Arena, ultimately setting up James' mistake and Misimovic's winner.
Edin Dzeko opened the scoring in the third minute for Wolfsburg, but Portsmouth answered with goals three minutes apart from Jermain Defoe (11th minute) and Arnold Mvuemba (14th).
Christian Gentner leveled the match in the 23rd, and Misimovic eventually broke the deadlock in the closing stages. James tried to dribble around Misimovic in the penalty box and the Wolfsburg midfielder stole the ball and slotted into an empty net.
James later denied Misimovic on a penalty kick, but Portsmouth couldn't create an equalizer and lost for the second time in three UEFA Cup matches.
Wason Renteria and Luis Bernardo Aguiar scored as Braga rallied from an early deficit to secure advancement and eliminate Heerenveen. AC Milan didn't play on Thursday but clinched based on the day's results.
In Group F, Vladimir Leitner and Peter Styvar scored in the opening 19 minutes and Zilina held off Aston Villa - even though the English side still advanced - and Ivica Olic and Mladen Petric scored to lead Hamburg to a 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague.
Hamburg, Aston Villa and Ajax - which all have six points - have one match left in group play to determine the final order of the teams.
In Group G, Nikola Zigic scored in the 60th minute to help Valencia tie Club Brugge 1-1 to secure advancement and Mikael Antonsson scored in the 85th minute to help Copenhagen earn a 1-1 draw against Rosenborg, which was eliminated.
St. Etienne, which was idle, also secured a spot in the next stage. Club Brugge and Copenhagen meet on the last day of the stage to decide the last qualifier.
In Group H, Vagner Love scored a hat trick as CSKA Moscow defeated Nancy 4-3 to finish a perfect 4-0 and Deportivo got a second-minute goal from Diego Colotto and held on for a 1-1 draw against Lech Poznan.
Feyenoord, which was idle, was eliminated but Nancy, Deportivo and Lech Poznan are still battling for the final two spots from the group.
The UEFA Cup group stage wraps up on Dec. 17-18.
<< FCS Previews: Week 15
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Here are the predictions for the
quarterfinal round playoff games and the Gridiron Classic from week 15 of the
FCS season.
SATURDAY'S FCS QUARTERFINALS
No. 6 Villanova (10-2) at No. 1 James Madison (11-
<< Reds re-sign P Lincoln
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds re-signed reliever
Mike Lincoln to a two-year contract on Thursday.
Lincoln returned to the majors last season after missing the 2005-07 seasons
because of several elbow surger
<< Bayern plans to keep Podolski for rest of season
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
has categorically ruled out the possibility of striker Lukas Podolski being
allowed to leave the club in the January transfer window.
The 23-year-old Germany
<< Brewers sign P Julio
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent
relief pitcher Jorge Julio to a one-year contract on Thursday.
The 29-year-old split time last season between the Cleveland Indians and the
Atlanta Braves, goin
NFLPA files lawsuit to block suspensions >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL Players Association filed a
lawsuit Thursday, challenging the suspensions of five players levied earlier
this week for violations of the league's steroids policy.
New Orleans' Charles Gr
Barry to remain tight-lipped until end of season >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry is
not planning to make any more comments on his future until the end of the
season.
The England international was widely expected to leave Villa Park and si
Xavi agrees to new deal with Barcelona >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona midfielder Xavi has confirmed
that he has agreed a new contract that will see him play out the rest of his
career at the Camp Nou.
The 28-year-old Spain international had been linked with
Nitties one up at PGA Tour Q School >>
La Quinta, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Nitties fired a nine-under 63 Thursday
to grab a one-shot lead after two rounds at the Final Stage of PGA Tour
Qualifying School.
Nitties completed 36 holes of the 108-hole tournament at 12-unde
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
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