Argentina patiently waiting its turn

Soccer Betting Lines

06/21/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Behind a devastatingly skilled attack and coached by a personality to match, it is a bit of a mystery as to how Argentina has faded into the peripherals of South Africa.

Despite having won both its matches in convincing fashion - even in the 1-0 win over Nigeria, they dominated the flow of the game - Argentina find themselves taking a back seat to headlines of early upsets and team mutiny.

Favorites by anyone's definition, the Albiceleste entered the 2010 World Cup without the same type of fanfare and hype allotted to countries such as Spain and Brazil.

This, in spite of a roster that includes one of the most talented players in the world, in Lionel Messi, and football legend Diego Maradona patrolling the sidelines.

And that Maradona guy - the one who almost single-handedly won the 1986 World Cup with a virtuoso performance cemented in soccer lore - he's more than happy to pull the curtain back and praise a group talented enough to win their third Cup title.

"I want to congratulate my players for having perfectly executed our game plan. We deserved a win like this because we'd already threatened this kind of result against Nigeria," Maradona said after his team's 4-1 thrashing of Group B rival South Korea.

"Except from the ... error [that led to South Korea's goal], we had all the play and did what we wanted with the ball."

Such confidence appears misplaced given Maradona's lack of pedigree when it comes to directing a squad on the pitch.

After navigating his team through an uninspiring qualifying round and with just two Cup games under his belt, there is plenty of ammunition to shoot down hopes of a third world title for the storied soccer nation.

Having all but secured a trip to the round of 16 prior to playing their final group match versus Greece on Tuesday, the Argentineans can look ahead to the elite portion of the tournament with shades of Germany fresh on their minds.

It was then that Argentina's 19-year-old prodigal striker, Messi, could only watch from the bench as his team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the host country in a heartbreaking penalty shootout.

For Messi, who scored at a rate of more than a goal a game for his club team Barcelona this year, performing on the international stage will be everything in defining his legacy as one of the all-time football greats.

And yet despite lofty comparisons to his coach - whose five goal performance in the '86 tournament stands as one of the gold standards in the history of the sport - Messi will have to start finding the back of the net if Argentina have any thoughts of knocking off Brazil, Germany, or Spain.

Through their first two games, the team's top striker has been held off the score sheet even though his electric speed and mesmerizing footwork has remained the focal point in an impressive Albiceleste offense.

Although questions as to the club's ability to defend and stop the opposing attack are considered to be its main deterrent to the final, Argentina's success will hinge on the performance of its two superstars.

But this time around, only one of those men can look on while the other tries to revive those fond memories of 24 years ago.

"Messi is my Maradona," the coach said upon assuming national team duties.

If such sentiment holds true, Argentina's story will be front and center this summer.

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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.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

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