Arsenal stunned by Blackburn

Soccer Betting Lines

09/17/2011 - Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal's poor start to the new Premiership campaign got worse on Saturday as the Gunners scored two own goals and missed a host of chances on their way to a 4-3 defeat against Blackburn at Ewood Park.

The visitors started brightly through Gervinho as he finished off a nice through ball from Alex Song, but Yakubu answered back for Rovers with his first goal for the club in the 25th minute.

Mikel Arteta restored Arsenal's lead with a powerful shot from Aaron Ramsey's pass that he slammed into the roof of the net before halftime, but Arsenal began to self destruct after the break.

Blackburn's equalizer came in the 50th minute on an own goal by Song as Ruben Rochina's free kick struck the midfielder's leg and found its way past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

The hosts then took their first lead of the contest from a corner kick as the ball fell to Steven Nzonzi at the back post. He drove a low cross toward the front of goal for Yakubu, who easily redirected it past Szczesny.

Things got worse for Arsenal in the 68th minute when Martin Olsson's long run allowed him to get near the end line on the right and attempt to pull the ball back. But his pass only got as far as Laurent Koscielny, who turned it into his own net.

The Gunners fought back and pulled to within a goal through Marouane Chamakh's header in the 85th minute, but they should have leveled the match in stoppage time when Per Mertesacker headed over the net from a few yards.

Arsenal has lost three of its last four games and owns just four points from five matches.

Aston Villa 1, Newcastle 1

Birmingham, England - Aston Villa and Newcastle both maintained their unbeaten start to the Premiership season as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park on Saturday.

Gabriel Agbonlahor put the home side in front after 13 minutes, but Leon Best tallied his third goal of the campaign early in the second half to pull Newcastle level.

Villa has now drawn four of its first five games this season, while the Magpies have claimed eight points from their last four contests.

Norwich City 2, Bolton 1

Bolton, England - Norwich City recorded its first win back in the top flight on Saturday at the Reebok Stadium, topping Bolton, 2-1.

The opening goal arrived after 37 minutes through Anthony Pilkington, with Bradley Johnson doubling the advantage shortly before halftime.

Ivan Klasnic was sent off in first-half stoppage time for Bolton, but Wanderers did manage to pull a goal back from the penalty spot through Martin Petrov. However, it wasn't enough to prevent the club from losing its fourth successive match.

Everton 3, Wigan 1

Liverpool, England - Late goals from Apostolos Vellios and Royston Drenthe propelled Everton to a 3-1 win over Wigan at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Franco Di Santo put the Latics in front on the half-hour mark, but Everton's Phil Jagielka canceled out the opener a few minutes later.

The game remained level until the 84th minute, when Vellios put the Toffees in front, while Drenthe added a third goal deep into stoppage time.

David Moyes has seen his side earn seven points from its last three games, while Wigan has lost back-to-back contests.

Swansea City 3, West Bromwich 0

Swansea, Wales - It was a day of firsts for Swansea City at Liberty Stadium on Saturday as the club not only scored its first goal of the season, but also recorded its first victory, topping West Bromwich, 3-0.

A successful penalty kick from Scott Sinclair gave the Swans a long-awaited goal, and Leroy Lita added a second 11 minutes later to give the home side a 2-0 lead at the break.

Nathan Dyer secured all three points with a goal early in the second half, leaving the Baggies with four defeats from five games this season.

QPR 3, Wolverhampton 0

Wolverhampton, England - Wolverhampton suffered its second successive loss on Saturday, losing 3-0 to QPR.

Joey Barton tallied his first goal for the London side after eight minutes, while Alejandro Faurlin added another goal two minutes later.

DJ Campbell's goal in the 87th minute wrapped up a disappointing day for Mick McCarthy's side, which has claimed just one point from its last three games after opening the season with two straight wins.

Wwwottawasenators Soccer Betting News

<< Motherwell's struggles continue against St Johnstone
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Motherwell suffered its third defeat in four games on Saturday, losing 3-0 to St Johnstone at Fir Park Stadium. Tim Clancy's own goal put the home side behind 1-0 at the break, while Francisc

<< Griffin beats Pilkadaris in South Pacific playoff
Noumea, New Caledonia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Griffin rolled in a three-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to defeat third-round leader Terry Pilkadaris and win the South Pacific Golf Open Championship. Griffin closed with

<< GB&I dominates Saturday play at Seve Trophy
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Great Britain & Ireland had a tough day Friday, but responded in resounding fashion on Saturday at the Seve Trophy. In two sessions, the GB&I team won six of a possible eight points to extend

<< A-Rod returns to Yankees lineup
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto after sitting out more than a week to rest his ailing thumb. Rodriguez missed six games and last p

<< Suspension upheld for South Carolina's Byrd
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina freshman wide receiver Damiere Byrd will remain suspended for the next two games after the NCAA upheld its original four-game penalty following an appeal by the school. Byrd received a fou

Scott tops in Nationwide qualifying at Chicagoland >>
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Scott will start on the pole for the first time in his Nationwide Series career after posting the quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying session for the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Scott tu

Podolski's brace leads Cologne past Bayer Leverkusen >>
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of second-half goals from Lukas Podolski helped Cologne claim a 4-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, putting an end to Leverkusen's four-game unbeaten streak. The opening goal arrived

Broncos place DT Warren on IR >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive tackle Ty Warren's season is over for a second straight year. Warren, who had triceps surgery last December, signed a two-year deal with the Broncos in August after spending the first eight yea

Boyd, Clemson put an end to long Auburn win streak >>
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd was instrumental in stopping a pair of streaks for Clemson, on a Saturday that will surely be remembered for a long time in Death Valley. Boyd threw four touchd

Rose opens 4-shot lead at BMW Championship >>
Lemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose posted a two-under 69 on Saturday to vault to the top of the leaderboard after Saturday's third round of the BMW Championship. Rose, a second-round co-leader, finished 54 holes at 13-under 200 an

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.