Kagawa fires Dortmund past Hoffenheim

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shinji Kagawa netted a pair of goals to lead Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday at Signal- Iduna-Park, extending Dortmund's unbeaten run to 13 games.

Goals from Kagawa and Kevin Grosskreutz in the first half gave the home side a two-goal advantage at the break, which Kagawa extended with his second goal of the contest in the 55th minute.

Fabian Johnson's goal in the 63rd cut into the deficit, but there was no way back for the visitors at that point and they have now won only once in the past nine games.

Sebastian Kehl set up the first goal by swiping the ball from a Hoffenheim defender and playing it to Kagawa for a simple finish.

Grosskreutz made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark when he stabbed home a cross from Jakub Blaszczykowski, while Grosskreutz and Kagawa combined on Dortmund's third goal with the Japanese midfielder applying the finishing touch.

Johnson's goal arrived eight minutes later for Hoffenheim, which has slipped to eighth during its poor run of form.

Bayern Munich 2, Wolfsburg 0

Munich, Germany - Bayern Munich used second-half goals from Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben to record a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Bayern was looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to Monchengladbach last time out but had to wait until the 60th minute to grab the lead as Gomez saw his header blocked, but followed up and scored from six yards on the rebound.

The points were then secured in stoppage time with a fortunate goal from Robben. Wolfsburg's Felipe Lopes cleared a shot off the goal line from Bayern's Ivica Olic, but his clearance struck Robben in the stomach and found its way over the line.

Bayern has won four of its last five league matches and remains level on points with both Dortmund and Schalke at the top of the table.

Schalke 4, Cologne 1

Cologne, Germany - Schalke came from a goal down at halftime to claim a 4-1 win at Cologne on Saturday, with two goals coming from Ciprian Marica.

Lukas Podolski surprised the visitors with a goal inside three minutes for Cologne, and it held up until the hour mark when Marica leveled the contest for Schalke.

The Romanian doubled his tally 12 minutes later to put Schalke into the lead, and things got worse for the hosts when Miso Brecko was hit with a red card in the 77th minute.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar converted a penalty kick to make it 3-1 in the 78th, and Marco Hoger capped the scoring four minutes later to complete Schalke's fifth straight win.

Augsburg 2, Kaiserslautern 2

Augsburg, Germany - Augsburg and Kaiserslautern both remained in the bottom three on Saturday after playing to a 2-2 draw at the SGL Arena.

Marcel De Jong fired Augsburg in front after five minutes, but his opener was canceled out midway through the first half by a goal from Florian Dick, who found the back of the net again shortly after halftime to put the visitors in front.

Stephan Hain then leveled the contest for good in the 66th minute, preventing Kaiserslautern from leaving with all three points and holding the club to its fifth successive draw.

Augsburg moves off the bottom of the table on goal difference with the result, while Kaiserslautern remains in 16th.

Hamburg 2, Hertha Berlin 1

Berlin, Germany - Hamburg responded from its loss to Borussia Dortmund last time out by handing Hertha Berlin a 2-1 defeat at the Olympiastadion on Saturday.

The loss to Dortmund snapped a nine-game unbeaten run for Hamburg, but Marcell Jansen's goal midway through the opening half put the visitors into the lead before Mladen Petric doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time.

Hertha was able to pull a goal back nine minutes from time through Pierre- Michel Lasogga, but it wasn't enough to prevent the home side's winless run from extending to eight games.

Werder Bremen 1, Bayer Leverkusen 1

Bremen, Germany - Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen finished in a 1-1 draw at the Weserstadion on Saturday, keeping both sides at arms length from the top four teams.

Claudio Pizarro tallied the opening goal in the 29th minute when he brought down a cross from Tom Trybull and smashed the ball inside the right post.

But Leverkusen pulled level in the 57th when a corner kick from Michal Kadlec was headed home by Stefan Reinartz, with Bremen nearly snatching the win in the final 10 minutes as Markus Rosenberg's shot struck the post.

Bremen is five points back of fourth-place Monchengladbach while Leverkusen remains one point behind the home side.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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