Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minute when he put Palermo in front. But Milito and Miccoli took over from there, with Milito leveling the contest six minutes later to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Miccoli restored the lead for the visitors by beating Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar at the far post in the 52nd minute, only for the Nerazzurri to come right back and answer from the penalty spot through Milito after Yuto Nagatomo was fouled inside the area by Palermo's Ezequiel Munoz.

Milito completed his hat trick just after the hour mark when he finished off a header from Esteban Cambiasso. But Miccoli responded when he tracked down a cross from Federico Balzaretti to nod the ball past Cesar from six yards.

Inter went back in front in the 68th minute when Milito netted his fourth goal with a bit of luck as Giampaolo Pazzini's scuffed shot deflected off the leg of the Argentina international and found the back of the net.

But with Inter poised to collect all three points, Miccoli finished off his own hat trick five minutes from time by racing on to a through ball from Josip Ilicic and slotting his shot past Cesar.

Inter has now claimed one point from its last two games after winning its previous seven, leaving the club eight points back of leaders Juventus.

Lazio 2, AC Milan 0

Rome, Italy - AC Milan missed out on a chance to move to the Serie A summit on Wednesday as the club sustained a 2-0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

Juventus held a one-point lead on second-place Milan and the end of last weekend, but the Old Lady had its match with Parma postponed on Tuesday because of snow, giving the Rossoneri a chance to take over the top spot.

But the visitors failed to take advantage as Lazio scored twice in the final 15 minutes to claim the win and move to within four points of Milan.

Hernanes netted the first goal in the 76th minute after being set up by Tommaso Rocchi, who tallied a goal of his own five minutes from time to seal the win.

Cagliari 4, Roma 2

Cagliari, Italy - Thiago Ribeiro scored a goal in each half as Roma's five- game unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday with a 4-2 defeat at Cagliari.

Ribeiro scored in the sixth minute for Cagliari, but Roma responded with goals from Juan and Fabio Borini to take a 2-1 lead.

Mauricio Pinilla leveled the match at halftime with his first goal for the club, and Ribeiro put the hosts in front a few minutes after the break before Albin Ekdal put the result away two minutes into stoppage time with a close- range tap in.

Napoli 0, Cesena 0

Naples, Italy - Napoli's struggles continued on Wednesday as the club extended its winless streak to four games after a 0-0 home draw with relegation- battling Cesena.

Napoli now trails third-place Udinese by 11 points, with Cesena sitting in 19th place and three points from safety.

The hosts created the better chances throughout the match but were denied by some good goalkeeping from Cesena's Francesco Antonioli.

And Napoli was a bit unlucky in stoppage time not to claim all three points as Goran Pandev had a goal called back by referee Luca Banti seemingly for a foul in the build up.

Udinese 2, Lecce 1

Udine, Italy - Udinese gained ground on the Serie A leaders on Wednesday courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Lecce at the Stadio Friuli.

Michele Pazienza put the home side on the scoreboard inside of two minutes, with Lecce's David Di Michele answering back for his team midway through the opening half.

But Antonio Di Natale's 15th goal of the campaign came nine minutes before the break when Antonio Floro Flores played a square ball to the striker, who beat goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Udinese came close to adding to its lead in the second half, but still held on to move to within three points of Juventus at the top of the league.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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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.

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