05/09/2008 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After failing to secure its third straight scudetto last Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to rivals AC Milan, Inter Milan will attempt to lift the title once again with a home victory against Siena on Sunday.
Inter's loss coupled with a Roma win closed the gap to just three points with two games remaining, however Inter owns the head-to-head tiebreaker should the two clubs finish level on points, meaning a win on Sunday will be enough to keep the trophy in Milan.
While the derby defeat to the Rossoneri was tough to swallow, and only added to the speculation that manager Roberto Mancini will be gone at the end of the season, Inter rebounded by beating Lazio 2-0 in the second leg of its Italian Cup semifinal, putting them into the final against Roma for the second straight season.
Injuries have been a major problem for Mancini's men in recent months and he will likely be without defenders Cristian Chivu and Nicolas Burdisso, who both sustained injuries in the win over Lazio.
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has still not yet recovered from a knee problem, while defender Marco Materazzi will take part in the match despite picking up a red card against Lazio. He will be able to play in league games but likely faces a suspension for the Cup final.
Roma must be ready to produce another strong effort like the one they put forward last week in a 3-0 win over Sampdoria. The capital club will host Atalanta on Sunday, but their title hopes will end if Inter beats Siena.
Juventus has already clinched third place and will host Catania, while AC Milan took over fourth place with its win against Inter and will travel to Napoli.
Fiorentina is two points back and will need three points from relegation- threatened Parma, while Udinese is three points behind the Viola and hosts Cagliari.
Last-place Livorno must win at home to Torino to have a shot at safety, while second-from-the-bottom Empoli faces a huge relegation battle at Reggina, which is just three points ahead of Empoli.
Lazio travels to Genoa, and Sampdoria needs three points against Palermo to keep its European hopes in good standing.
<< Karlsson shoots course-record 61 to lead in Italy
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson fired an 11-under 61 in the
second-round of the Italian Open on Friday to set a course record and take a
two-shot lead.
Karlsson was at 15-under-par 129 overall, his 61 on Friday bre
<< Lo Duca, Estrada placed on DL
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals placed a pair
of catchers, Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, on the 15-day disabled list
on Friday.
The club recalled catcher Jesus Flores from Triple-A Columbus, and rein
<< Lyon filled with confidence ahead of top-three clash
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon will head into Saturday's top-three
showdown with Nancy full of confidence after beating Sedan 1-0 in the
semifinals of the French Cup on Wednesday.
The six-time defending Ligue 1 champi
<< Drama at both ends of Premiership table on final day
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is still plenty to be decided on
the final Premiership Sunday of the season, with Manchester United and Chelsea
both level on 84 points at the top, while three teams are separated by just
one poi
Atletico Madrid can lock up Champions League spot >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid hopes to secure a spot in the
Champions League on Sunday against Deportivo. But while that's Atletico's main
goal, Barcelona is also just three points away in third place.
Atletico Madrid beat
Quenneville will not return as Avs coach >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday
that Joel Quenneville will not return as head coach for the 2008-09 season.
"After meeting with Joel, we mutually agreed that the best decision for both
parties
Serena suffers QF loss in Berlin >>
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in two days,
Dinara Safina knocked off a top-10 superstar, as the Russian ousted previously
red-hot American Serena Williams on Friday to reach the semifinals at the
$1.34 m
Walking the MLB line >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there's one sport that lends itself
more to winning wagers than the rest, it has to be Major League Baseball.
Unlike football or basketball, point spreads do not come into play, so the
late meaningless t
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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