Benfals Football Betting News

<< 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.

<< Dundee aims to keep Gomis
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

<< Brazil advances to play U.S. in Confed Cup final
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

<< St. Louis to host WPS All-Star Game
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

D.C. United and goalie Crayton part ways >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United will not exercise the option on goalie Louis Crayton's contract, ending his one-year stay with the club on June 30, the team announced Thursday. Crayton played in six games, all starts, for the

L.A. signs Patterson, promotes Zerboni >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Sol signed forward Lyndsey Patterson to a developmental contract and promoted McCall Zerboni to senior player Thursday. Patterson played for both the Seattle Sounders and the Atlanta

Inter's Ibrahimovic relaxed over future >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he remains focused on Inter Milan despite the constant speculation surrounding his future. The Sweden striker is reported to be at the center of a transfer tug-of-war between

Barca's Xavi welcomes latest Villa link >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Xavi Hernandez has urged Valencia striker David Villa to join him at Barcelona. The Spain midfielder has admitted he is excited by the prospect of his international colleague joining up with

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.