Brazil advances to play U.S. in Confed Cup final
Soccer Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Alves scored in the 87th minute, helping Brazil edge South Africa 1-0 on Thursday in the Confederations Cup to set up a rematch with the United States in the final.
Alves, who entered the match as a substitute in the 81st, lined up a free kick from 19 yards and drilled a shot to the right of a five-man South African wall, just off the post and into the side netting.
Brazil, which beat the United States 3-0 in group play, faces the Americans on Sunday at 2:30 (ET). The U.S. shocked world No. 1 Spain on Wednesday to advance to its first FIFA final.
South Africa will play the third-place game Sunday against Spain, which won the teams' group meeting 2-0.
Brazil opened Thursday's semifinal with the first scoring chance when Ramires unleashed a 20-yard blast that tested South Africa goalie Itumeleng Khune, who dove to make the first of four saves.
South Africa followed with three straight chances, the best in the 21st minute when Aaron Mokoena ran between Brazil center defenders Lucio and Luizao to meet a free kick and headed just high with only goalie Julio Cesar to beat.
Brazil's Kaka had two chances in a five-minute span late in the half, but his first shot was wide and Khune saved the second.
South Africa's Steven Pienaar capped the back-and-forth first half with a blast inches wide of the left post in the 43rd as the game went to half scoreless.
The African club had the first good chance of the second half also, with Teko Modise unleashing an 18-yard shot in the 58th that deflected off Luizao's arm and changed directions but was still stopped by Cesar at the right post for the best of his four saves.
Over the next 30 minutes, both sides had a few chances but rarely finished well and overtime and penalty kicks seemed like the only way the match would end.
But just minutes from the end of regulation, Ramires earned a foul just outside the area and Alves lined up the kick from 19 yards out on the top left side of the area.
South Africa lined up a good wall but Alves eyed the right side and drilled the shot just past a defender and a diving Khune for a near-perfect goal, his third for Brazil.
The Brazilians nearly added a second goal before the final whistle, but Luis Fabiano was denied from close-range to give the South Africans some hope in the closing seconds.
South Africa couldn't find the equalizer, though, and settled for the rematch with Spain, which will be trying to rebound from its first loss in 36 games, despite an inspired performance.
Brazil extended its unbeaten streak to 15 games (11-0-4), and improved to 3-0-0 all-time against South Africa.
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced Thursday that The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., will be the site of the 2009 WPS All-Star Game on Aug. 30. The league will employ a unique format
<< San Jose waives Denton, Gray
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes placed defender Eric
Denton and midfielder Kelly Gray on waivers Thursday.
Denton appeared in 10 matches this season and had an assist. In 2008 he started
26 games at left back.
G
<< Winnpeg Blue Bombers (CFL)
Released defensive backs Patrick Body, Ronyell Whitaker, Jasper Johnson and Nick Kordic, wide receiver Terry Firr, offensive linemen Jean-Francois Morin-Robeerge, Matt O'Meara and Thaddeus Coleman, running back Joe Smith, defensive linemen Monte
<< United fails to lure Brazilian starlet
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gremio has rejected a request from
Manchester United to take rising star Douglas Costa on trial.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is one of the brightest talents in South
American football a
<< Pirates send Snell to minors
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned struggling
pitcher Ian Snell to Indianapolis of the International League on Thursday.
Snell has made 15 starts this season, compiling a 2-8 record with a 5.36
earned r
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United manager Craig Levein is hoping to hold off interest in Morgaro Gomis this summer. Gomis, 23, is under contract with the Terrors until 2011, but has been the subject of interest fro
Berkman clubs two homers to help Astros crown Royals >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a pair of two-run homers and
reached the 1,000 RBI plateau as the Houston Astros edged the Kansas City
Royals, 5-4, in the finale of a three-game interleague set at Minute Maid
Park.
Werder completes Marin signing >>
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen has finally completed the
signing of Germany Under-21 international Marko Marin.
The 20-year-old midfielder has signed a four-year contract to officially seal
his $10.6 million transfer
Lions give C Raiola contract extension >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions announced on Thursday
they have agreed to terms with center Dominic Raiola on a contract extension
that will keep him with the club through the 2013 season. Financial terms of
the dea
Hawks acquire Crawford from Warriors >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks acquired guard Jamal Crawford
from the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in exchange for guards Acie Law and
Speedy Claxton.
"We feel we have gained tremendous flexibility with the addition
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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