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08/31/2010 - Izmir, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Batum scored 24 points to power France to a 68-63 win over Canada at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Batum, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, made 8-of-14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. He was the only French player to reach double figures, helping his team improve to 3-0 in Group D.
Canada fell to 0-3 in preliminary play. Levon Kendall scored 15 points for the Canadians, while Kelly Olynyk added 13.
The game was tied at 28 at halftime and Canada opened a slim 48-46 edge after three periods. The Canadians led by as many as six early in the fourth, but France quickly tied it at 52-52 on a Batum bucket with just over seven minutes remaining.
It remained close from there and two free throws from Jermaine Anderson pulled Canada within 64-63 with 19 seconds left. Mickael Gelabale followed with a pair from the stripe at the other end and Canada's Denham Brown had a shot blocked before Batum secured the rebound and drilled two from the line in the closing seconds for the final margin.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia beat the Ivory Coast, 72-66, and Puerto Rico topped China, 84-76, in Group C. The earlier Group D game saw New Zealand rout Lebanon, 108-76.
<< PGA Tour suspends rule that led to Furyk DQ
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The PGA Tour has suspended the rule
that led to Jim Furyk's disqualification from The Barclays last week.
Furyk was kept from the first playoffs event in New Jersey because he
overslept Wed
<< Bent joins Wolverhampton on loan
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton signed striker Marcus
Bent from Birmingham on Tuesday on a four-month loan deal.
Bent, 32, spent parts of last season on loan at Middlesbrough and Queens Park
Rangers. Wolverhampton a
<< What's eating the slumping Cardinals?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony La Russa hasn't managed many poor teams during his
tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In fact, the Cardinals have missed the playoffs only six times since La Russa
took over the ballclub back in 1996, a pretty solid
<< Birmingham signs Beausejour, Hleb, Jiranek
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham signed three players on the
final day of the transfer window on Tuesday, adding Jean Beausejour, Alexander
Hleb and Martin Jiranek.
Chile international Beausejour was acquired from Club Amer
Sunderland shells out record fee for Gyan >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland signed Ghana striker Asamoah
Gyan for a club-record transfer fee of nearly $20 million on Tuesday and gave
him a four-year contract.
Sunderland acquired the 24-year-old Gyan from French clu
Jankovic advances in New York >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic
was among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the 2010 U.S. Open.
The fourth-seeded Jankovic went the distance to sneak past Romanian Simona
Halep 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 at
Calgary's Rambo highlights CFL weekly awards >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Ken-Yon Rambo,
Saskatchewan Roughriders safety James Patrick, Edmonton Eskimos kicker Noel
Prefontaine and Calgary running back Jon Cornish were selected as the CFL's
top per
AC Milan acquires Robinho from City >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan acquired Brazilian striker Robinho on
Tuesday from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee, just two years after City
signed him for a British record transfer fee of $50 million from Real Madrid.
Robin
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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