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02/12/2012 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick after Levante had Vicente Iborra sent off, and Real Madrid won 4-2 at the Bernabeu on Sunday to open a 10-point lead atop La Liga.
Gustavo Cabral fired fourth-place Levante into the lead inside 5 minutes, but a second yellow to Iborra late in the first half earned him an early trip to the shower, and put Ronaldo on the spot for his first goal of the match.
Ronaldo added two more goals in the second half and now leads La Liga with 27, and Karim Benzema added a fourth to seal Real's 11th home win in 12 matches.
Levante did make the match interesting for a few minutes in the second half as Arouna Kone scored in the 63rd to cut Real's lead to 3-2, but Benzema's strike followed just 3 minutes later.
Real took advantage of Barcelona's loss Saturday, and now leads the standings by 10 points with 16 matches left in the season. Levante is 26 points off the pace in fourth.
Valencia 4, Sporting Gijon 0
Valencia, Spain - Sofiane Feghouli's first-half goal sparked Valencia to a 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon on Sunday at the Estadio Mestalla as the hosts snapped a five-game La Liga winless run.
Feghouli scored in the 33rd, an own goal put Valencia in control in the 73rd, and Jonas added a brace in stoppage time to seal his club's first win since mid-December.
Despite the slide, Valencia maintained third and used the win to solidify its place in the Champions League places. Gijon lost for the third time during its current four-game winless run, and sits 19th on just 19 points from 22 games.
Villarreal 3, Granada 1
Villarreal, Spain - Marco Ruben and Borja Valero scored as Villarreal won its second straight, and for the third time in its last four, 3-1 over Granada on Sunday to climb to 14th in La Liga.
Ruben opened the scoring on 16 minutes and, after Inigo Lopez tied the fixture early in the second half for Granada, Valero restored the lead in the 64th. An own goal in the 73rd accounted for Villarreal's third goal.
The Yellow Submarines were in the bottom three before their recent success and have pulled three points clear of the relegation zone. Granada had a two-match win streak snapped, and is two points from danger in 16th.
Real Zaragoza 2, Espanyol 0
Barcelona, Spain - Last-place Real Zaragoza used goals from Paulo Da Silva and Juan Carlos to post just its third win of the season Sunday, 2-0 over Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat in La Liga.
Da Silva opened the scoring 10 minutes after halftime and Carlos sealed a road win - Zaragoza's first of the season - in stoppage time. Zaragoza was winless in its first 11 road matches, with eight losses and three draws.
Real Zaragoza remained in last, eight points from safety, after its first win since October. Espanyol could have moved into the top four and a Champions League spot, but remained fifth.
Malaga 3, Mallorca 1
Malaga, Spain - Sebastian Fernandez, Jeremy Toulalan and Rondon scored to help Malaga overcame an early deficit for a 3-1 win over Mallorca on Sunday at the Estadio La Rosaleda in La Liga.
Pereira fired Mallorca in front after 4 minutes, but Fernandez pulled one back on 11 minutes, and Toulalan and Rondon scored in the second half to seal a win for Malaga.
Malaga pulled level on points with Atletico Madrid for sixth place and a place in the Europa League next season. Mallorca lost for the third time in its last five, and is just two points above the drop in 14th.
Rayo Vallecano 2, Getafe 0
Madrid, Spain - Michu and Diego Da Silva Costa scored on each side of halftime as Rayo Vallecano defeated Getafe, 2-0, at the Teresa Rivero to climb into the top half of the La Liga standings.
Vallecano, which has won two straight and three of its last five, climbed into 10th place, although its still just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Getafe lost its second straight, and fell one point behind Vallecano to 11th.
<< Bryant's late shot gets Lakers past Raptors
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant broke away from the double team of
James Johnson and DeMar DeRozan while Metta World Peace led him perfectly
into the right corner on the inbounds pass.
Bryant pulled up along the right base
<< Michigan uses balanced attack to beat Illinois
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hardaway, Jr. led a balanced attack with
15 points, as No. 22 Michigan downed Illinois, 70-61, at Crisler Arena.
Trey Burke added 14 points, Evan Smotrycz had 13 and Zack Novak totaled 12
points wit
<< Duke holds off Florida State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Haley Peters scored 18 points and the
fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils held off the Florida State Seminoles, 67-57.
Elizabeth Williams and Shay Selby added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for
the Blu
<< Clark lifts No. 12 Georgetown over St. John's
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Clark struggled mightily from the
floor, but provided two key baskets late, lifting No. 12 Georgetown to a 71-61
wire-to-wire win against St. John's.
Clark netted 11 points on just 1-of-8 shootin
Suarez 'sorry' for latest incident with Evra >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool's Luis Suarez apologized Sunday
for refusing to shake hands with Manchester United's Patrice Evra prior to an
English Premier League match Saturday, admitting he made a mistake and that he
was "so
Panthers use strong second period to down Isles >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Jack
Skille tallied in the second period as Florida powered past the New York
Islanders, 4-1, at Nassau Coliseum.
Tyson Strachan also lit the lamp for the Pan
No. 4 Stanford crushes UCLA >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike netted a game-high 25 points
to go with eight rebounds as No. 4 Stanford ran over UCLA, 82-59, on Sunday.
Chiney Ogwumike finished with 19 points, while Toni Kokenis and Joslyn Tinkle
added
Rondo's triple-double helps Celtics hold off Bulls >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo recorded his ninth career triple-
double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, helping the Boston Celtics
hold off the Chicago Bulls, 95-91.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 boards f
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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