Bobcsts Basketball Betting News

<< Riera leaves Liverpool to join Olympiakos
Athens, Greece (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Riera has left Liverpool to sign with Olympiakos, the Greek club announced on Friday. Riera signed with Liverpool from Spanish side Espanyol in 2008 for a fee of $12 million, but he has now moved t

<< Dynamo jump back into league action at Crew
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo get back into Major League Soccer action on Saturday after a two week break when they travel to take on the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. The Dynamo (5-7-4) played three SuperLiga

<< Hamburg signs midfielder Kacar to five-year deal
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg signed Serbian midfielder Gojko Kacar to a five-year contract Friday through the 2014-15 Bundesliga season. Kacar, 23, previously played for Hertha Berlin, which was relegated after last season.

<< Spurs sign first-round pick Anderson
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have signed guard James Anderson. The Spurs selected the 6-foot-6 Anderson with the 20th pick in last month's draft. Anderson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year last s

Wells, Cubs blank Cards to begin weekend series at Wrigley >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wells turned in seven scoreless innings, and three different players hit home runs, as Chicago downed St. Louis, 5-0 in the opener of a three-game set between these perennial rivals at Wrigley Field.

RSL aims to start new streak vs. Chivas USA >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake will aim to start a new streak when it hosts Chivas USA in a Major League Soccer tilt on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL (9-4-3) is coming off a 2-0 loss at Dallas that snapped a 10

Seattle tries to build momentum against Rapids >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following a successful first season in Major League Soccer, Seattle Sounders FC has fallen on hard times as they enter Sunday's contest with the Colorado Rapids at Qwest Field in seventh place in the Wes

Chakvetadze reaches semifinals in Slovenia >>
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anna Chakvetadze overcame a dropped set and saved two match points to beat fellow Russian Vera Dushevina on Friday in the quarterfinals at the Slovenia Open. The sixth-seeded Dushevina had a 5-3 le

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

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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