Real Madrid joins Barca on top

Soccer Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Van der Vaart's stoppage-time goal gave Real Madrid a 3-2 comeback win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, while Barcelona could only manage a 2-2 draw with Almeria, leaving the two heavyweight sides level on 62 points.

Lionel Messi scored in the 42nd minute to cancel out Domingo's opening goal for Almeria, but after an own goal from Barca's Carles Puyol in the 57th minute, Messi needed another goal just to give Barca a point.

That left Real three points back of the defending champions ahead of their match with Sevilla.

However, things didn't start so well for the home side as Sevilla was in front after 10 minutes when Diego Capel's deflected cross went in off Real's Xabi Alonso.

Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop made the lead stand up over the rest of the first half despite Real heaping pressure on the visiting side.

He made a number of quality stops, and then saw his team take a two-goal lead shortly after halftime when a free kick from Ivica Dragutinovic skipped innocently inside the box but somehow eluded goalkeeper Iker Casillas and found its way into the back of the net.

The hosts were letting a big opportunity slip away, but they started their comeback effort on the hour mark when Cristiano Ronaldo swooped in to fire home a loose ball inside the box.

Guti then had his shot deflected off the crossbar, but the ensuing corner kick was headed home by Sergio Ramos to level the score in the 64th minute.

It seemed like just a matter of time before Real would score again, but Gonzalo Higuain was twice denied by the woodwork before the game entered stoppage time.

However, with just seconds to play, Higuain had a header parried by Palop into the path of Van der Vaart, who bundled it over the goal line for a dramatic winner.

The other match on Saturday saw Deportivo move into fifth place with a 3-1 win over Tenerife, who scored the game's first goal in the 17th minute but conceded three unanswered tallies in a 35-minute span.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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