Benayoun, Liverpool spoil Arshavin's four-goal day

Soccer Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yossi Benayoun scored in stoppage time, just seconds after Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin scored his fourth goal, to help Liverpool salvage a 4-4 draw at Anfield on Tuesday.

Benayoun also scored earlier in the half and Fernando Torres also had a double, spoiling Arshavin's incredible four-goal performance.

Liverpool moved into first place in the English Premier League, moving level on points with Manchester United. Liverpool leads on goal differential, but United has played two fewer games.

Arshavin put Arsenal in front in the 36th but Torres scored four minutes after half and Benayoun scored in the 56th as Liverpool rallied to go ahead.

Arshavin, who joined Arsenal in the winter transfer window, responded with two goals in a four-minute stretch to put Arsenal back in front. He scored in the 67th and 70th, but Torres answered again for Liverpool in the 72nd.

Arshavin wasn't done, though, and scored in the 90th minute to put Arsenal back in front. Benayoun had the last laugh, though, scoring seconds later to end the match in a draw.

On Wednesday, Manchester United hosts Portsmouth, and Chelsea hosts Everton.

Wwdaum Soccer Betting News

<< Juve handed stadium ban
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus will have to play one game behind closed doors as a punishment for racist chanting during the weekend clash with Inter Milan. Inter forward Mario Balotelli was jeered during Saturday's 1-1

<< Red Sox SS Lowrie out 6-to-8 weeks
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie had successful surgery on his left wrist Tuesday morning and will miss the next 6- to-8 weeks of action. Lowrie had a procedure done that scoped the wrist and r

<< Bayern's Lucio hits out at boo-boys
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazil international Lucio has backed Jurgen Klinsmann to lift Bayern Munich out of its current malaise. A 1-0 win against Arminia Bielefeld at the weekend kept Bayern in the title race, but Klinsmann'

<< Chelsea's Cole hopes Hiddink stays
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ashley Cole is the latest Chelsea players to say he would like Guus Hiddink to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this season. The Dutchman has said on several occasions that he is only on a

<< Real fines Faubert for missing training
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid will fine Julien Faubert after the Frenchman failed to turn up for training. Faubert, who moved to the Bernabeu in January on loan from West Ham United, has made just two substitute appearances fo

Wolfsburg's Zaccardo targets Milan move >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Bologna and Palermo defender Cristian Zaccardo is desperate to leave Wolfsburg and return to Italy. The 27-year-old has spent most of this term on the substitute's bench as Wolfsburg

Baldelli put on DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Rocco Baldelli on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with a mild left hamstring strain. Baldelli suffered the injury in the third inning of Boston's 12-1 victory o

Delaware Park going strong >>
Stanton, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In this era of year-round racing, opening day at a seasonal racetrack is similar to opening day in baseball. The sky is bluer and the flowers smell especially fragrant. Delaware Park opens for its 72n

Wild G Backstrom to undergo hip surgery >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom will undergo left hip surgery, the team announced Tuesday. The surgery, which will take place Friday, will fix two cysts Backstrom has on his hip. Wild

Rockies place P Speier on DL, recall P Morales >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies placed right-handed pitcher Ryan Speier on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring ,retroactive to April 19, on Tuesday. Additionally, the club recalled left- handed pitcher

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

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.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

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.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com