Hearts hands Rangers first defeat of season

Soccer Betting Lines

09/15/2007 - Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hearts entered its contest with Rangers on Saturday having won just one of its first five games this season. However, the Edinburgh club stunned the previously unbeaten Glasgow side 4-2 at Tynecastle Stadium.

Rangers had gone a perfect 5-0 to start the campaign, but were not prepared for the effort that the home team put forward. Andrew Driver and Ibrahim Tall had the home side ahead 2-0 after 27 minutes, and after Daniel Cousin converted from the penalty spot for Rangers shortly after the break, Hearts answered back with two goals of its own.

Michael Stewart made the most of his spot kick, and Kestutis Ivaskevicius scored four minutes later to give Hearts a commanding 4-1 lead.

DaMarcus Beasley scored in the 74th minute to bring Rangers to within two goals, but another win was never in the cards for Rangers on this day, and they dropped their first points all season.

Marius Zaliukas tried to find Andrius Ksanavicius with a pass inside the box. However, defender Carlos Cuellar poked the ball away. It ended up on the foot of Driver, and he cracked a shot towards goal that took a deflection off Alan Hutton and found the net.

Tall then doubled the lead for Hearts when he picked up a loose ball 20 yards from goal and smashed it past keeper Allan McGregor.

Barry Ferguson earned a penalty kick for Rangers shortly after halftime, and Cousin converted to tighten things up.

However, Hutton's day got worse as he was whistled for a foul inside the area on Ivaskevicius. Stewart then struck the penalty low into the right corner to restore the two-goal edge for Hearts.

Ivaskevicius put it out of reach four minutes later, and Beasley continued his good start to the season by pulling one back for Rangers in the 74th.

In other action in Scotland on Saturday, Celtic took over the top spot in Scotland with a 5-0 pounding of Inverness, Motherwell stopped Aberdeen 2-1 at Pittodrie Stadium, Kilmarnock held off Gretna 2-1 and Falkirk and Hibernian split the points in 1-1 fashion.

The league will finish up on Sunday as St Mirren will try to move to .500 with a victory over fourth-place Dundee United.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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