Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers

Soccer Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City went top of the Premier League on Saturday after defeating Fulham, 3-0, on a snowy night at the Etihad.

The Citizens take a three-point lead in England's top tier as rivals Manchester United are set to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Roberto Mancini's men cruised to a comfortable victory at home behind goals from the deadly partnership of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko. Fulham defender Chris Baird also conceded an own goal to help City claim all three points.

City took the lead 10 minutes into the match in slightly controversial fashion.

Adam Johnson claimed a dubious penalty kick after going down in the box from minimal contact. Aguero took advantage, powering home from the spot to put the Citizens in front.

City's lead was doubled 20 minutes later thanks to an own goal from Baird. The Northern Ireland defender appeared out of sorts throughout the first half, and the Citizens benefited from his uneasiness as they grabbed a two-goal lead.

Dzeko added a third goal following some brilliant individual play from Aguero. The Argentine danced into the box and squared the ball to an unmarked Dzeko, and the 25-year-old stuffed a one-time effort into the back of the net.

The second half was interrupted several times due to the unyielding winter storm, as Etihad Stadium stewards shoveled the field lines clear of snow on multiple occasions. The blizzard has also threatened to delay Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge.

It could not slow down Manchester City though, as the Citizens improve to 57 points through 24 games to set the pace in the EPL.

Fulham, meanwhile, suffers its first loss in three Premier League games to remain on 27 points.

Arsenal 7, Blackburn 1

London, England - Arsenal trounced 10-man Blackburn in a 7-1 victory at the Emirates on Saturday, giving the Gunners their first Premier League win of the new year.

Robin van Persie continued his goal-scoring tear with a hat trick, netting in the second, 38th, and 61st minutes. The Dutchman leads the Premier League with 22 goals on the season.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also continued his impressive form with a brace, scoring in the 40th and 54th minutes.

Morten Gamst Pedersen notched an equalizer in the 32nd minute, but after quickly surrendering two more goals, Rovers were left with a mountain to climb as Gael Givet was issued a red card just before the break for a two-footed challenge.

Blackburn never recovered as Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry tacked on second- half goals to complete the rout.

Swansea City 2, West Bromwich 1

West Bromwich, England - Swansea City surrendered the first goal at the Hawthorns but battled back in impressive fashion to claim a 2-1 win over West Bromwich on Saturday.

Marc-Antoine Fortune put the Baggies in front in the 54th minute, but Swansea quickly equalized through Gylfi Sigurdsson a minute later. Swansea did not have to wait long for the game-winner to materialize, as Danny Graham grabbed his eighth goal of the season in the 59th minute to hand the visitors all three points.

Swansea continues its stellar season in top-flight football, improving to 30 points on the season, while West Bromwich sits just above the relegation zone on 26 points.

Sunderland 1, Stoke City 0

Stoke-on-Trent, England - Sunderland continued its exceptional form under Martin O'Neill with a 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke City at the Britannia on Saturday.

The two sides entered the match tied on points, but the win sees Sunderland climb to eighth place on 33 points through 24 games.

Robert Huth was sent off for the Potters just before halftime, and the Black Cats capitalized on the man advantage in the second half as James McClean netted in the 60th minute to help his side claim their seventh win in 10 matches under the guidance of O'Neill.

Wolverhampton 2, QPR 1

London, England - Wolverhampton grabbed a much-needed win at Loftus Road on Saturday, edging 10-man QPR 2-1.

Newly-signed forward Bobby Zamora put the home side in front in the 16th minute, but his strike partner, Djibril Cisse, was issued a straight red card in the 34th minute to leave QPR up against it for the remaining hour.

Wolves utilized the extra man, as Matt Jarvis and Kevin Doyle provided second- half goals to see the visitors claim all three points.

Wolverhampton climbs out of the relegation zone and level with QPR as the two sides are deadlocked at 21 points.

Wigan 1, Everton 1

Wigan, England - Wigan and Everton traded second-half goals at the DW Stadium as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw Saturday.

The Latics went in front in the 76th minute after a goalkeeping gaffe from Tim Howard let in a Phil Neville own goal, but the Toffees responded seven minutes later as super-sub Victor Anichebe nodded home a cross from Leighton Baines to earn a share of the points.

Everton, on 30 points, is unbeaten in its last four Premier League games, while Wigan, bottom of the table on 16 points, put a halt to its four-game losing skid.

Norwich City 2, Bolton 0

Norwich, England - After picking up just one point from its last two matches, Norwich City got back to its winning ways with a 2-0 defeat of Bolton at Carrow Road on Saturday.

A scoreless opening period gave way to a two-goal showing from the Canaries in the second half, as goals from Andrew Surman in the 69th minute and Anthony Pilkington in the 85th minute saw the home side claim its eighth victory of the season.

Norwich looks a certain bet to stay in the Premier League following promotion last summer as it enjoys a comfortable ninth-place position on 32 points, while Bolton's struggles continue, sitting in the relegation zone on 20 points.

Wwwmenshealth Soccer Betting News

<< Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fab Melo returned to the Syracuse lineup after a three-game absence and the sophomore center paid immediate dividends with 14 points, as the second-ranked Orange controlled the paint and rolled to a 95-70 victory

<< Georgetown cruises past South Florida
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on Saturday. Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the

<< Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier title
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament. The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6

<< Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal. Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina

<< Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew from her Fed Cup match with a lower back injury on Saturday. She will be replaced by teammate Anastasiya Yakimova, but she is still elig

Bayern held by Hamburg at Imtech Arena >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich fell two points off the pace of first-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after it was held to a 1-1 draw at the Imtech Arena by Hamburg. Borussia Dortmund claimed sole possession of first

Florida State holds off Virginia >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center. Xavier Gibson added 10 points

Irish down No. 15 Marquette for fourth straight win >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Connaughton drained five three-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points, as Notre Dame earned its fourth straight win and snapped Marquette's seven-game winning streak with a 76-59 victory over th

Boynton helps Florida down Vanderbilt >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Boynton scored 18 points, as No. 12 Florida earned a 73-65 win over No. 25 Vanderbilt in Saturday's hard-fought SEC showdown. Bradley Beal added 16 points and seven rebounds while Erving Walker

No. 6 Baylor holds off Oklahoma State >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 Baylor survived to take a 64-60 win over Oklahoma State. Pierre Jackson scored 16 points while Quincy Acy added 11 points and 12 rebounds

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.