Udinese tops Napoli with Di Natale's late heroics
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed up his own penalty miss to fire past Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, but Cristian Maggio equalized in the 21st minute for the visitors before he picked up a second yellow card for diving right before halftime.
However, Udinese was unable to take advantage of the sending off until stoppage time, when Di Natale scored twice in a two-minute span to help his side snap a seven-game winless skid.
The win moves Udinese two points clear of the bottom three, while Napoli suffered its first defeat in Serie A in 15 games.
Udinese started well and their pressure was rewarded after seven minutes when Kwadwo Asamoah drew a penalty kick after he was held inside the area by Maggio.
Di Natale had his spot kick saved by De Sanctis, but he pounced on the rebound and put his team in front.
Napoli was level in the 21st minute when Marek Hamsik's through-ball picked out German Denis, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, but it followed up by Maggio to even the match at 1-1.
The visitors then came within inches of taking the lead in the 44th minute when Fabio Quagliarella headed a cross from Denis off the crossbar, but less than one minute later, Napoli was reduced to 10 men when Maggio received a second booking for diving.
Neither side really gained an advantage throughout the second half, but the game came to life again in the 89th minute when Napoli's Michele Pazienza had his shot hit the post.
However, Pazienza was responsible for giving away a goal in the first minute of stoppage time when his poor clearance allowed Di Natale to beat De Sanctis.
The Udinese striker then completed his hat trick minutes later when he found the net once again on the counter attack.
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AC Milan dropped to third after being held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna, Sampdoria knocked off Siena, 2-1, Catania got the better of Lazio, 1-0, Marco Rossi's second-half goal helped Genoa beat Chievo, 1-0 and Atalanta took care of Bari, 1-0, with Simone Tiribocchi scoring eight minutes from time.
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 6:25 P.M. (ET) Saints - 3rd QB Chase Daniel, TE Darnell Dinkins, RB Lynell Hamilton, T
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is listed as active for the Super Bowl despite a right ankle injury.
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ligament in h
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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
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