Real Madrid ready to dethrone Barca in La Liga

Soccer Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid had an incredible season last year, but still finished three points behind Barcelona in Spain's La Liga.

The nine-time Champions League winner spent nearly $400 million last offseason, but not even the additions of former FIFA World Players of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka was enough to unseat Barca.

Real made more moves this offseason to end Barca's two-year title run, but it was the addition of manager Jose Mourinho that was the most important.

Mourinho won the Champions League, Italian Serie A and Coppa Italia last year with Inter Milan, but was lured to the Bernabeu this offseason.

"The Special One" also captured the Champions League with Portugal's FC Porto earlier in his career, and now faces the task of ending Real's La Liga and CL droughts.

Real last won the Champions League in 2002 and has been eliminated in the last 16 each of the last six seasons. The club last won La Liga in 2008, a drought that is only unacceptable in Madrid.

"Winning is the only thing that counts at Real Madrid," Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso said.

Mourinho allowed veterans Raul, Guti and Christoph Metzelder to leave Madrid, turning to youth with the signings of Angel di Maria, Pedro Leon, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Sergio Canales.

Those four players cost Real around $85 million, and Argentina's di Maria is a talented 22-year-old who cost nearly half of that amount from Benfica. Khedira and Ozil, who cost a combined $34 million, both emerged for Germany during the recent FIFA World Cup. Leon and Canales are a pair of Spanish U-21 players who are the future of Spain's senior team.

Veteran Ricardo Carvalho, who played under Mourinho at Porto and Chelsea, was also brought in from Chelsea to solidify the defense.

Alonso, who was signed from Liverpool last season, believes Madrid will have a strong team this season, but it could take some time to completely get used to Mourinho.

"The team is still evolving. The internationals rejoined the squad throughout the preseason following the World Cup. The coach needs time for the players to act out his new ideas on the pitch. We have to continue working, but we will improve with time," Alonso said.

Barcelona had more notable departures this summer as Thierry Henry, Yaya Toure and Dmytro Chygrynskiy all left, but Pep Guardiola does have one new toy this season in Spain striker David Villa.

Villa joined Barca from Valencia for more than $50 million, adding another one of the pieces of Spain's World Cup squad to the already impressive club. Barca is also close to signing Argentina defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano, who would strengthen the best club midfield in the world.

Barca held off Real last season by three points, although it suffered just one loss in La Liga. With both teams again the class of La Liga, all that really is yet to be decided is which finishes first and which finishes second.

On Saturday, Hercules hosts Athletic Bilbao, Malaga hosts Valencia and Levante hosts Sevilla as the La Liga season kicks off.

Barca visits Racing and Real Madrid visits Mallorca on Sunday, when Deportivo hosts Real Zaragoza, Espanyol hosts Getafe, Real Sociedad hosts Villarreal and Osasuna hosts Almeria.

Atletico Madrid, which beat Inter Milan in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday, opens against Sporting Gijon on Monday.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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