Toulouse continues perfect with win over Nancy

Soccer Betting Lines

08/28/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Ligue 1 leaders Toulouse continued its perfect start to the 2010-11 season with a 2-0 win over Nancy on Saturday.

Midfielders Etienne Capoue and Franck Tabanou scored second-half goals to lead Toulouse to its fourth win in four games this season.

Capoue scored on a 25-yard shot in the 68th minute before Tabanou added some insurance n injury time to seal the win.

Rennes and Montpellier moved into a second-place tie with 1-0 wins over Arles- Avignon and Valenciennes respectively. Both clubs now have eight points, but remain four back of the leaders early.

Perennial champions Lyon suffered its second loss on the early season at Lorient, St Etienne topped Lens, 3-1, thanks to Dimitri Payet's hat-trick, and Brest traveled to Caen to earn a 2-0 victory.

Wwwfivestarcasino Soccer Betting News

<< Rangers put P Francisco on DL
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed closer Frank Francisco on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained right latissimus dorsi muscle. The right-hander suffered the injury in Friday's game aga

<< Victorino, Blanton and bullpen get Phils past Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino provided a much-needed offensive spark with two hits and two RBI for the Phillies, who defeated the San Diego Padres, 3-1, in the second of three games at PETCO Park. Victorino, who

<< Browns DB Sorensen leaves game
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns defensive back Nick Sorensen left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. Sorensen was hurt in the second quarter when he was blocked by a pair of Lions defenders on a kickoff.

<< Sevilla, Valencia win big in La Liga openers
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Abdoulay Konko and Joaquin Sanchez scored twice for their respective clubs as the Spanish La Liga opened its 2010-11 campaign with three fixtures on Saturday. Konko's two goals helped Sevilla top Leva

<< Blackburn, Fuentes shut out M's; Twins win third straight
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Blackburn hurled 8 2/3 scoreless innings and Denard Span drove in the lone run as Minnesota clipped Seattle, 1-0, in the middle test of three from Safeco Field. Blackburn (8-8) yielded two hi

Red Sox activate Okajima from DL >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated pitcher Hideki Okajima from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. Okajima had been out since August 6 with a right hamstring strain. Before the setback, he was 4-3 with a

49ers NT Franklin signs tender >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers announced Saturday nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin has signed his franchise tender. A number of sources have placed the tender's value at close to $7 million for the eighth-year pro. Fr

Ambrose edges Villeneuve for Nationwide pole at Montreal >>
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose outran Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in the closing minutes of qualifying to take the pole for Sunday's NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Ambrose,

OU's Wilson finding new ways to make a difference >>
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Corey Wilson may not be able to run out and catch a pass for Oklahoma. Walking can still be a struggle for the receiver who injured his spinal cord in a car accident last year.That doesn't mean he can't make a difference for his

Brown, Lions rally past Browns >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brown rushed for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as Detroit rallied past Cleveland, 35-27, in preseason action from Ford Field. Matt Stafford played three quarters and went 13-of-17 for 141 yards

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.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.