Special win: Inter eliminates Chelsea

Soccer Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samuel Eto'o scored late in the second half and Inter Milan beat Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge to seal its 3-1 aggregate win and a spot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho, who is nicknamed "The Special One," coached Chelsea from 2004-07. Inter had lost in the Round of 16 the last three seasons, but is back in the final eight for the first time since 2005-06.

Chelsea last failed to reach the last eight that same year and had advanced to the semifinals each of the last three seasons. The Blues were second in 2008.

CSKA Moscow defeated Sevilla 2-1 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to claim its series on aggregate, 3-2, to join Inter in the quarterfinals. Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Lyon, and Manchester United advanced last week.

Barcelona hosts Stuttgart on Wednesday with the series tied 1-1, and Bordeaux hosts Olympiacos with a 1-0 edge in their series to decide the last two teams.

Chelsea created the first scoring chance in the 11th minute when Frank Lampard dropped a pass off to Michael Ballack and the German drove a 30-yard shot just wide of the left post.

Inter had its only good scoring chance of the first in the 33rd after Chelsea captain John Terry misjudged a cross and it sailed over his head to Eto'o, who wasted an opener header with a shot straight into the ground.

Chelsea created its best chance two minutes before half when Didier Drogba set up Nicolas Anelka in the area. Anelka tried to tap the ball past Julio Cesar, but the Inter goalie got a piece of the ball and Thiago Motta cleared.

Although Chelsea needed a goal to win the series, Inter was far more dangerous through the first 25 minutes of the second half and could have easily put the series away on three occasions.

Wesley Sneijder found a streaking Goran Pandev in the 59th minute, but he took too long to test Chelsea goalkeeper Ryan Turnbull, and Yuri Zhirkov closed to deflect the shot wide.

Just six minutes later, Terry turned the ball over and Sneijder lofted a pass to Diego Milito, who fired wide of the right post with only Turnbull to beat.

Sneijder set up another chance in the 70th, but his perfect free kick to the back post to Motta was headed over from close range.

Eto'o finally rewarded Sneijder for his play-making in the 78th and sealed the series at the same time. Sneijder chipped a pass to Eto'o to spring him for a one-on-one chance with Turnbull - who started for injured Petr Cech - and he settled well and then poked a shot past Turnbull to the near post.

Drobga was sent off in the 86th for stomping on Motta after a collision in the area, and Chelsea did nothing over the closing minutes.

Mourinho celebrated the goal from Eto'o, but he left the bench and was down in the tunnel before the final whistle blew.

In Spain, Tomas Necid and Keisuke Honda scored as CSKA Moscow shocked Sevilla. Necid scored the opener in the 39th but Valencia's Diego Perotti answered just two minutes later to level the series at 2-2.

Honda sent CSKA through when his 35-yard free kick deflected off the hands of Sevilla goalie Andres Palop and into the upper right in the 55th. Honda had a lot on the shot but Palop was in good position and should have easily made the save.

Sevilla needed two goals in the final 35 minutes, but couldn't respond and was eliminated in the Round of 16 for the second time in the last three years.

Wwwoasiscasino Soccer Betting News

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.