Davis moves Rangers closer to the top

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Steven Davis propelled Rangers to a 4-0 win over Hibernian at the Ibrox Stadium on Saturday, moving the club to within a point of leaders Celtic.

Davis scored the lone goal of the first half when he was played in behind the defense by Sone Aluko and fired his shot past goalkeeper Mark Brown.

The lead was doubled 10 minutes after the break when David Healy tracked down a long ball from Sasa Papac and beat Brown with the 'keeper out of position, while Hibs was reduced to 10 men in the 71st minute as James McPake picked up a second yellow card.

Aluko scored on the ensuing free kick to make it 3-0, and Davis added to the misery for the visitors by capping the scoring in stoppage time with his second goal of the contest.

Hibernian has lost three of its last four games and sits just one point off the bottom of the league.

Aberdeen 1, Dunfermline 0

Aberdeen, Scotland - Scott Vernon's first-half goal was enough for Aberdeen to extend its unbeaten streak to five games as the Dons secured a 1-0 win over Dunfermline at Pittodrie Stadium on Saturday.

The goal arrived in the 24th minute when Dunfermline goalkeeper Iain Turner came racing off his line to intercept a pass from Mark Reynolds. However, Vernon arrived at the ball first and headed it over the 'keeper for the game's lone goal.

Aberdeen moves into the top half of the table with the win, while Dunfermline has dropped seven of its last eight games and remains on the bottom of the league.

Inverness 0, St. Mirren 0

Inverness, Scotland - Inverness and St Mirren each moved a point further from the bottom as the two sides played to a 0-0 draw at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Saturday.

Inverness put some distance between itself and the bottom with a run of three wins and a draw in its last four games, while the Saints entered Saturday's match on a three-game losing streak.

The closest that either side came to breaking the deadlock arrived shortly after substitute Claude Gnakpa entered the match for Inverness in the 64th minute.

He sent a low shot whistling past goalkeeper Craig Samson but saw his effort strike the inside of the post and carom back into play.

Motherwell 3, St. Johnstone 2

Motherwell, Scotland - Motherwell strengthened its hold on third place on Saturday as Henrik Ojamaa scored a pair of goals in a 3-2 win over St Johnstone at Fir Park Stadium.

The two teams traded goals in the first half with Ojamaa putting Motherwell in front in the 22nd minute, only for Jody Morris to equalize for St Johnstone just before halftime.

Ojamaa found the net again in the 65th minute for the hosts and Keith Lasley stretched the lead to 3-1 15 minutes from time before Francisco Sandaza pulled a goal back for the visitors from the penalty spot with nine minutes to play.

Motherwell moves six points clear of fourth-place Hearts following the win, while St Johnstone fails to claim fourth place after sustaining its second loss in three matches.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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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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