Ghana carries the weight of a continent

Soccer Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teams from the African continent have made steady progress on the sport's biggest stage starting since 1990, when Cameroon became the first team from Africa to reach the quarterfinals.

Nigeria followed up by advancing to the second round of the tournament in 1994 and 1998, before a surprising run to the quarterfinals by Senegal in 2002.

In 2006 it was Ghana's turn to shine, as the Black Stars advanced from a tough group that included Italy and the Czech Republic to reach the second round before bowing out to Brazil.

When the 2010 World Cup was awarded to South Africa, it represented another step forward for the continent as a whole.

Many questioned whether or not the country was fit to host an event of this magnitude, with worker's strikes and slow ticket sales dominating the headlines during the build-up.

But things have gone well so far for the African continent - other than the games themselves.

Much has been written about how important it is that the continent is staging the World Cup, but the performance of its teams is also crucial in establishing Africa's place in the global pecking order.

With six African teams taking part in the competition, surely a few would advance beyond the group stage and possibly further, marking another step forward for African football.

However, after African teams combined to put together a record of 3-10-5 in 18 group stage-matches, Ghana is the only hope left standing.

There are a variety of reasons for the general failure of the African sides, ranging from a tough draw to injuries to poor judgement. But if Ghana is able to become the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, it would save the continent's blushes.

South Africa was the victim of timing more than anything else as they picked a bad year to host the World Cup.

Bafana Bafana had much better teams take part in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, led by a prime Benni McCarthy as well as top players like Aaron Mokoena and Shaun Bartlett.

The team didn't play poorly as they went 1-1-1 in Group A, but they still became the first host nation to fail to advance beyond the group stage.

Nigeria was a good bet to finish second in Group B behind Argentina, but following a tough 1-0 defeat to the South American side in their opener, the Super Eagles went up 1-0 on Greece before a foolish red card from Sani Kaita allowed an inferior Greek team to rally for a 2-1 win.

This left Nigeria in a terrible spot, and they could only manage a 2-2 draw with South Korea, despite getting the better of the play.

Not a lot was expected from Algeria in Group C, but they proved tougher than expected as they earned a draw with England and lost in stoppage time to the United States before bowing out.

The same cannot be said of Cameroon, which has to go down as one of the most disappointing teams in the entire World Cup.

Captain Samuel Eto'o bristled at criticism from the legendary Roger Milla prior to the tournament, and he even threatened to withdraw before the team crashed to three defeats in three games.

Ivory Coast was labeled as maybe the best hope for an African semifinalist prior to the World Cup draw, but after being drawn into a group with Brazil and Portugal, those expectations were tempered a bit.

The fact that star striker Didier Drogba suffered a broken arm in a friendly with Japan less than two weeks before the team's opener also didn't help matters.

Ivory Coast's first game came against Portugal, and it was probably the most crucial of the tournament for Les Elephants. But because of his injury, Drogba was limited to just 25 ineffective minutes of action off the bench, and the game finished 0-0.

Even Ghana needed a bit of good fortune to advance on the final day of Group D play. After losing 1-0 to Germany, the Black Stars would have been eliminated had Serbia rallied to tie Australia, 2-2. However, the Socceroos held out for a 2-1 win that now gives the African continent one team to get behind.

The fact that Ghana has moved on despite the absence of its best player, midfielder Michael Essien, should not be overlooked. But the team has used some good fortune and a bit of hard work to get to the next round.

And after a very favorable draw that serves up the United States in the round of 16 and a potential quarterfinal matchup with either Uruguay or South Korea, Ghana's hopes of making history for Africa are very real.

And they can be sure that an entire continent will be watching.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.