Brazil bounced from World Cup by Dutch

Soccer Betting Lines

07/02/2010 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second successive FIFA World Cup, Brazil has failed to reach the semifinals as it suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday in a quarterfinal match.

Brazil was knocked out in the quarterfinal round by France in 2006, but it was firmly in control in the first half of Friday's match and it took the lead after 10 minutes through Robinho.

However, Brazil failed to capitalize on a number of other chances and allowed the Netherlands to equalize early in the second half with a fluke own goal from Felipe Melo.

Wesley Sneijder then put the Dutch ahead with a 68th-minute header before Melo's night got even worse as he was sent off for stepping on Arjen Robben after the Dutchman had gone down in the 73rd minute, effectively ending Brazil's chances.

The Netherlands last reached the semifinals of the World Cup in 1998, when it was beaten by Brazil, and it will now play the winner of the other quarterfinal on Friday between Ghana and Uruguay.

The Dutch lost central defender Joris Mathijsen to a knee injury prior to the match and his absence was felt in the opening 10 minutes when Robinho sliced through the middle of the back line and took a pass from Melo before slotting his shot past goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Brazil continued to pressure and Dani Alves should have done better with a low cross from Juan that he fired over the net from eight yards, while a brilliant build up followed six minutes later for the South Americans.

Robinho started the move by dancing down the left wing and playing a pass to Luis Fabiano, whose clever backheel found Kaka at the top of the box. He then sent a curling shot toward the upper-right corner of the net, but the ball was tipped past the post by a fine save from Stekelenburg.

The goalie also did well right before halftime to keep out a good first-time strike from Maicon, which proved huge as the game entered the second half.

The equalizing goal came very much against the run of play and it was an innocent looking cross from Sneijder that set it up.

The ball was played toward the front of goal from the right wing, but goalkeeper Julio Cesar was bumped by teammate Melo, allowing the ball to hit off Melo's head and go into the net.

It was a slice of good fortune for the Dutch, and it also saw Brazil come unhinged.

The winning goal came in the 68th minute from a corner kick as Arjen Robben played the ball to the near post for Dirk Kuyt, who flicked it into the path of Sneijder for a successful header.

Brazil was down to 10 men five minutes later when Robben went down and was stepped on by Melo, earning the midfielder a red card and severely damaging Brazil's chances.

The final 15 minutes saw Brazil unable to really threaten the Dutch net, with the best chance coming on a corner kick that was poorly handled by Stekelenburg but headed to safety by Kuyt.

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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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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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