Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers

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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.

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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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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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