Drogba's double sinks Arsenal
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Didier Drogba's first-half brace allowed
Chelsea to claim an important 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on
Sunday, returning the Blues to the top of the Premiership table.
Drogba opened the scoring inside of eight minutes and he added a second goal
15 minutes later, giving Chelsea a two-goal lead they never looked like giving
away.
Chelsea moves two points clear of second-placed Manchester United with the
win, while Arsenal's title hopes have all but disappeared as they are now nine
points off the pace.
John Terry endured a terrible week leading up to the match as he was stripped
of the England captaincy amid a scandal involving former teammate Wayne
Bridge, but he had a hand in the opening goal early in the match.
A corner kick was played to the near post and Terry was able to flick it on to
Drogba at the back post, where the striker easily stuffed it home from two
yards out.
Arsenal responded well and they had Chelsea pinned back following the goal,
but their best chance came in the 17th minute when Andrei Arshavin's volley
eight yards from goal was hit into the legs of goalkeeper Petr Cech.
The hosts sat back and soaked up the Arsenal pressure before hitting the
Gunners on the counter attack in the 23rd minute to take a 2-0 lead.
Frank Lampard carried the ball through midfield and played it wide to Drogba,
who cut back past two defenders inside the area and lashed a left-footed shot
past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
Arsenal wasn't able to create any real good opportunities until the 69th
minute when a Cesc Fabregas free kick made its way past the wall and through
traffic, only to be turned away by a good save from Cech.
It would be Arsenal's last decent chance as Chelsea easily cruised through the
final 20 minutes, with Drogba nearly completing his hat trick six minutes from
time with a 30-yard free kick that came back off the crossbar.
Sunday's other match saw Birmingham's Kevin Phillips come off the bench in the
second half and score two goals in the final 10 minutes of a 2-1 Birmingham
win over Wolverhampton.
<< Czechs win doubles match to advance in Fed Cup
Brno, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic reached the
semifinals of the Fed Cup after disposing Germany in the decisive doubles
match.
The tandem of Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke defeated Anna-Lena Groenefe
<< Italy tops Ukraine in Fed Cup quarters
Kharkiv, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesca Schiavone rallied from a set
down to beat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine and help defending champion Italy
secure a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.
Schiavone defeated Kateryna Bondarenko 2
<< Stricker six clear after three rounds at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker polished off a five-
under 66 Sunday and stretched his lead to six strokes after three rounds of
the Northern Trust Open.
Stricker, who led by five entering the day, carded a p
<< England draws Wales in EURO 2012 qualifying
Warsaw, Poland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England will take on Wales in qualifying
after the two nations were placed in the same Euro 2012 group.
Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro were also drawn in Group G alongside
England and Wales ah
<< Canadiens invite struggling Bruins to Montreal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to avoid tying the longest
losing streak in franchise history when they visit the rival Montreal
Canadiens for today's Northeast Division clash at Bell Centre.
The Bruins have gone the last 10 ga
Thrashers recall G Lehtonen >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have recalled
goaltender Kari Lehtonen from a conditioning assignment with the AHL's Chicago
Wolves.
Lehtonen has yet to play in the NHL this season after undergoing back surg
Dodgers ink Brian Giles to minors deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed
veteran outfielder Brian Giles to a minor league contract with an invitation
to spring training.
The 39-year-old battled an arthritic right knee last season
Eintracht rallies to beat Borussia Dortmund >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastian Jung and Alexander Meier scored
goals in the final 25 minutes to help Eintracht complete a 3-2 comeback
victory against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday.
The visitors went
Turner leads Ohio State over Iowa >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Turner matched a career high with 32
points, as 13th-ranked Ohio State defeated Iowa, 68-58, at Value City Arena.
Turner added seven rebounds and four assists for the Buckeyes (18-6, 8-3 Big
Ten),
Cilic defends Zagreb crown >>
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seed Marin Cilic outlasted Germany's
Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 to retain the title at the Zagreb Indoors
tennis event.
Cilic beat Mario Ancic in last year's All-Croatian final, and now
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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