Bayern's Olic the best value in Europe

Soccer Betting Lines

04/27/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich's Ivica Olic has been worth as much as any player in Europe this season. Funny, especially considering he cost Bayern absolutely nothing.

In an offseason that included Cristiano Ronaldo's insane $132 million move to Real Madrid from Manchester United, Olic's free transfer from Hamburg doesn't exactly draw too much attention.

It's hard to overlook anymore.

Considered to be merely a backup when Bayern signed him to a three-year deal, Olic earned a starting role under Louis van Gaal and led his new club to the Champions League final.

Olic, who pushed $40 million signing Mario Gomez to the bench at Bayern, has 17 goals in all competitions - including three in Tuesday's 3-0 victory over Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals in France.

"I'm determined to reach the final but we still have a lot of work to do," Olic said before the second leg of the semifinals, which Bayern captured on aggregate 4-0 to advance to its first final since 2001.

"I for one will be giving my all."

That's all he's done since arriving in Munich.

The Croatian is the second-leading scorer in the Champions League this year, trailing only Barcelona magician Lio Messi. By the way, Ronaldo, whose club was eliminated in the first knockout stage (again), also scored seven.

Olic's trademark work rate - certainly appreciated by teammates and coaches but frustrating for opponents - makes him an enjoyable player to watch. And while too many forwards are only focused on chasing goals, Olic chases just about any ball he can, even if it's just to prevent a corner or goal kick.

His finishing ability, of course, has been big for Bayern as well - even if he's been overshadowed by some more costly stars.

Dutch star Arjen Robben, who scored the series-winner against United in the second leg and the lone goal in the opening match against Lyon, and the $33 million Bayern spent on him last summer seems like a bargain.

But Olic has just three fewer goals than the impressive winger and has five goals in his last four Champions League games. Robben has scored four goals for Bayern in the Champions League.

Olic, who scored in his debut for Bayern in August, scored the winning goal against Maccabi Haifa in the group stage for his first of the event and has provided more significant strikes as the tournament progressed.

He scored in the second game against Juventus in the group stage, a 4-1 win that Bayern needed just to advance to the knockout round.

Although he was held scoreless in the Round of 16, he set up the winner for Miroslav Klose, the top scorer at the 2006 World Cup who has also watched a starting role vanish because of Olic, in the first leg against Fiorentina.

In the quarterfinals, Olic scored the game-winner in the dying seconds when United's Patrice Evra didn't see him sneak in from the side to make a steal, then score to hand Bayern a 2-1 win. He also scored for Bayern in the return match, when it rallied from a three-goal deficit in a 3-2 loss that was good enough for an away-goals victory.

Obviously, Olic wasn't finished yet. He scored a goal with his right foot, his left foot and his head against Lyon.

"I thought Manchester United was the game of my life, but the semifinal is a great big match too," Olic said. "The vital thing was playing as a team.

"It means you can enjoy it as a striker. I never thought we'd win like that. It's tremendous to score three in a game of this importance."

It's no surprise Olic once again rose to the occasion Tuesday, this time on his biggest stage yet at Bayern. And the result, well, it - just like Olic - is priceless for Bayern.

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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets

With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship.  Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92.  After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points.  Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1.  Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years.  With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed.  UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern.  Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier.  OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak.  Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.  It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta.  But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.

Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props.  Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000.  Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.

MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:

EAST National Championship Region
Arkansas 300-1 50-1
Belmont 1000-1
Boston College 100-1 40-1
Eastern KY 1000-1
George Washington 75-1
Georgetown 10-1 3-2
Marquette 100-1 40-1
Michigan State 100-1 25-1
New Mexico St. 500-1 200-1
UNC 6-1 6-5
Oral Roberts  500-1
Texas 15-1 5-1
Texas Tech 200-1 5-1
USC 75-1 20-1
Vanderbilt 100-1 30-1
Washington State 40-1 15-1
WEST
Duke 50-1 10-1
Florida A&M 1000-1
Gonzaga 200-1  40-1
Holy Cross 300-1
Illinois 300-1 60-1
Indiana 75-1 40-1
Kansas 5-1 13-10
Kentucky 100-1 40-1
Niagara 1000-1
Pittsburgh 40-1 8-1
Southern Ill. 50-1 12-1
UCLA 10-1 3-2
VCU 500-1 100-1
Villanova 100-1 40-1
VA Tech 50-1 15-1
Weber St 1000-1
Wright St 1000-1 300-1
MIDWEST
Arizona 50-1 30-1
Butler 40-1 30-1
Davidson 300-1
Florida 4-1 4-5
Georgia Tech 75-1 25-1
Jackson State 1000-1
Maryland 30-1 6-1
Miami-OH 300-1
Notre Dame 100-1 20-1
ODU 500-1 100-1
Oregon 40-1 6-1
Purdue 300-1 60-1
Texas A&M CC 1000-1
UNLV 100-1 30-1
Winthrop 500-1 100-1
Wisconsin 15-1 7-2
SOUTH
Albany 200-1
BYU 200-1 40-1
Central CT St. 1000-1
Creighton 100-1 35-1
Long Beach St. 500-1 200-1
Louisville 40-1 10-1
Memphis 30-1 4-1
Nevada 75-1 35-1
North Texas 500-1
Ohio State 7-1 6-5
Penn 500-1
Stanford 200-1 50-1
Tennessee 100-1 20-1
Texas A&M 12-1 11-5
Virginia 75-1 18-1
Xavier 100-1 40-1

Field                                              100-1

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards