Cisse's debut offers plenty of hope for Newcastle
Soccer Betting Lines
02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Papiss Cisse's Newcastle debut may have come a bit earlier than expected, but he sure gave fans on Tyneside something to get excited about.
The Senegal international was the most expensive signing in a subdued January transfer window when he moved from German side Freiburg to Newcastle for nearly $16 million.
But the African Cup of Nations not only took Newcastle's leading scorer, Demba Ba, away from the club in January but would also delay the debut of Cisse.
Newcastle was expected to struggle without Ba, who leads the club with 16 goals this season, but Senegal's early exit from the competition has been a big boost to the fortunes of the Magpies.
Senegal was considered to be one of the top teams in the tournament, but stunning defeats to Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Libya saw the team crash out in embarrassing fashion.
This paved the way for the early returns of Ba and Cisse, who both made major contributions in the club's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Cisse had just arrived earlier in the week and found himself on the bench for Sunday's match, with the chance that he might feature as a substitute in the second half.
However, a knee injury to striker Leon Best just 14 minutes into the contest paved the way for Cisse, who got a warm reception from the fans at Sports Direct Arena upon his arrival.
And the 26-year-old didn't disappoint, generating a few decent scoring chances before capping his debut with a moment of brilliance.
With the game tied at 1-1, Jonas Gutierrez crossed the ball from the left wing to Cisse at the edge of the penalty area. He took the ball down off his chest and in one smooth motion, found the upper corner of the net with a left-footed strike that was pure genius.
It was a goal that was worthy of a match-winner, and gave Newcastle fans a glimpse of what could be a very promising future.
Early this season Newcastle found itself in the top five in the EPL table because of a stingy defense that yielded only four goals in its first seven games.
But injuries to the back line, including a season-ending one to Steven Taylor, has since seen the opposition find the back of the net more frequently, bringing about concerns that Newcastle simply doesn't have enough firepower to keep up.
Ba has enjoyed a stellar campaign for Alan Pardew's men with 16 goals, but after the former West Ham man, Best is next on the list with four goals to his name.
The arrival of Cisse provides a potent strike partner for Ba, who should benefit from playing alongside another proven scorer.
Cisse notched nine goals in 17 Bundesliga games for Freiburg prior to his arrival on Tyneside this season, which follows a campaign in which he finished second to Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez on the German scoring chart with 22 goals in 32 games.
The 26-year-old has yet to prove that his prolific scoring prowess will transfer to the Premier League, but Sunday's highlight-reel goal is a good start.
Ba and Cisse together give Newcastle the potential for one of the top strike partnerships in the Premier League, and have fans dreaming of a place in Europe for next season.
Following Sunday's 2-1 win, Newcastle sits in fifth place and just one point back of fourth-place Chelsea.
There is still plenty of work to be done to secure a European berth, but the arrival of a player like Cisse could be the kind of difference-making move necessary to put Newcastle over the top.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO- AM - Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill Golf Club, Pebble Beach, California - One might look at this week's field for the
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The Wildcats, who first had a two-week stay at No. 1 starting in late
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"Ryan is a talented, y
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Odds-favorite Alpha va
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Sabres coach Ruff suffers injury at practice >>
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Warriors waive Barron >>
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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009
Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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