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04/28/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petr Cech made six saves and Chelsea earned a 0-0 tie against Barcelona on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals at Camp Nou.
Barcelona took 20 shots, including six on goal, but was held scoreless at the Camp Nou for the first time this season. Chelsea took just three shots - one on goal.
Barca was shutout in its fourth straight semifinal match, dating back to 2006. Barcelona tied the second leg of its semifinal series against AC Milan 0-0 that year, and was shut out in both legs against Manchester United last season.
Chelsea, which allowed five goals in its quarterfinal win over Liverpool, hosts the second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 6.
Barcelona was the most impressive team in the early stages of the first leg but failed to test Cech. Barca, led by its trio of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry - who have combined for 81 goals this season in La Liga and the Champions League - fired off numerous long-range efforts. Henry was the first to test Cech in the 34th, but his shot was knocked wide.
Chelsea countered with its lone scoring chance in the 39th but Barcelona goalie Victor Valdes came up big for his lone save of the game. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba had a one-on-one chance against Valdes, but Valdes denied Drogba's first shot and then deflected a potential second chance.
After half, the match turned into a physical affair with Henry being completely knocked out in the 48th minute after a collision with Chelsea's Alex. Henry was on the ground for a few minutes before wobbling off, but did continue.
Barca suffered a bigger blow just seconds later, though, when central defender Rafael Marquez collapsed with an apparent knee injury. Marquez was just walking the ball up the field when he crumpled and had to be helped off.
Barcelona's Daniel Alves was the next to go down in the 54th and Drogba took an elbow to the head in the 61st, but both were able to finish the match.
The Spanish giants finally started to test Cech in the last 25 minutes but they could not solve Cech, or just wasted the chance. Alves curled a free kick just over the crossbar in the 67th, and Eto'o was denied by a kick save from Cech in the 69th.
Barcelona's Carles Puyol, who replaced Marquez, hurt his club's chances in the second leg in the 75th when he picked up a yellow card. Puyol will miss the second leg, and Marquez is unlikely to play after picking up the injury.
Barca youngster Bojan Krkic missed a chance for the winner in the 90th, heading over the crossbar from close range, and Alexander Hleb was denied by Cech on a breakaway in the 93rd to cap the Blues' goalie's big match.
Chelsea, which was obviously playing for a tie, possessed the ball far less and didn't look very dangerous, but will likely be a different team at home as it tries to return to the Champions League final for the second straight year.
On Wednesday, Arsenal visits Manchester United for the first leg in the other semifinal in a clash of English rivals.
<< Zigic eyes Valencia exit
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia international Nikola Zigic has not
ruled out the possibility of leaving cash-strapped Valencia in the summer and
moving to the Premier League.
Los Che, who allowed Zigic to join former club
<< Everton upset with FA Cup ticket allocation
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton have hit out at what it claims is
a "hopelessly inadequate" allocation of tickets for next month's FA Cup Final
against Chelsea.
Toffees chief executive Robert Elstone has revealed his disap
<< Freedom's Wambach earns WPS Player of the Week
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Freedom attacker Abby Wambach has
been chosen Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 5, it
was announced on Tuesday.
The U.S. international striker scored two goals, her fir
<< Benitez: Reds must sell to buy
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has
revealed he will have to fund any summer transfer deals by selling current
members of his Anfield squad.
The Reds have been linked with a series of raids t
Canada rolls to third straight win at Worlds >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Spezza scored a pair of goals to
lead Canada to a 7-3 win over Slovakia in the final game of Group A play at
the 2009 World Hockey Championship.
Shea Weber added a goal and three assists fo
Ex-Getafe coach Munoz upset about firing >>
Getafe, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Axed Getafe coach Victor Munoz claims he was
not given the time to save the club's top-flight status.
Munoz was sacked on Monday after the Madrid-based club's 2-1 weekend defeat -
their third in a row -
Blues may face Hiddink battle >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea may face a fight to keep hold of
Guus Hiddink after Bayern Munich revealed they are hoping to land a new coach
in the mould of the current Blues interim manager.
Hiddink has repeatedly stres
Safina, Dementieva reach second round at Porsche event >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Dinara Safina and Elena
Dementieva of Russia highlighted Tuesday's opening-round winners at the
$700,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The world No. 1 Australian Open and French Op
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
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Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
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