Hammers seal Behrami signing

Soccer Betting Lines

07/23/2008 - London, England (Soccer Betting) - West Ham United have sealed the $10 million signing of versatile Switzerland international Valon Behrami from Serie A outfit Lazio.

The 23-year-old, who can play in defense or midfield, has penned a five-year contract with the Hammers to end a five-year stint in Italy, where he has also played for Genoa and Hellas Verona.

He told his new club's official website: "I am very happy to at last be able to sign for West Ham. For me it is a dream come true to play for the club and in the Premier League.

"After the European Championships I spoke with West Ham who expressed their interest in me coming here.

"It was important for me to talk with everyone here and when I did I was very pleased to see what they wanted from me and what the plans are now and in the future for the team."

Behrami featured for the Swiss national team at the World Cup finals two years ago, while he started all three games for the co-hosts at Euro 2008 this summer.

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Wwwpharoahscasino Soccer Betting News

<< Mientkiewicz, Pirates edge Astros
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Mientkiewicz went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won a wild, 8-7, decision over the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. Jason Bay

<< Mensah joins Lyon from Rennes
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French champions Lyon have won the race to sign highly-rated Rennes defender John Mensah, who had been a target for several clubs in England. The 25-year-old Ghana international had been linked

<< Stuttgart's Meira leaves club for Galatasaray
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart's Portugal international defender Fernando Meira has left Germany to join Turkish giants Galatasaray. The 30-year-old defender has opted to move on despite having two years left to run o

<< Sans manager, Quentin lifts ChiSox in win over Rangers
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Quentin homered twice as the Chicago White Sox overcame four errors, the ejection of manager Ozzie Guillen and a four-run deficit in a 10-8 victory over the Texas Rangers to take the rubber match i

<< Hawks lose Childress to Greek team
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks lost the services of Josh Childress when the swingman signed with the Greek franchise Olympiakos on Wednesday. "We were informed this morning [Wednesday] by Josh Childress representa

Wozniacki, Medina Garrigues cruise into quarters at Slovenia Open >>
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and fourth-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues won their respective second-round matches on Wednesday at the $145,000 Banka Koper Sloveni

Blackburn accepts bid for Friedel >>
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn Rovers have reportedly accepted an offer of $4 million from Aston Villa for veteran American goalkeeper Brad Friedel. The 37-year-old had said last week that he was keen t

Benfica's Fonte completes switch to Crystal Palace >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica defender Jose Fonte has finally completed his permanent switch to Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Selhurst Park, has penned a three-year con

Galarraga, Tigers roll over Royals to complete sweep >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armando Galarraga was perfect through six innings, and wound up allowing three hits and a run over seven frames as Detroit topped Kansas City, 7-1, in the final test of a three-game set from Kauffma

Rapids win lottery for SMU star >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on Wednesday that the club has added former Southern Methodist University midfielder Bruno Guarda after winning a league lottery for the right yesterd


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

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.