05/09/2008 - Wolfsburg, Germany (Soccer Betting) - Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath described Saturday's Bundesliga match against Stuttgart as a "final."
Wolfsburg has climbed from 11th at the halfway point of the season to seventh - only Bayern Munich and Schalke have more points in the second half - and has two games left to try and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Wolfsburg and Stuttgart are among five teams battling for the two spots in the UEFA Cup - Bayern, Werder Bremen and Schalke already have the Champions League berths secured.
Saturday's full schedule - eight of the nine matches will help decide either a European spot or relegation - is highlighted by Stuttgart's trip to Volkswagen Arena.
"We have a real final match here at home for the UEFA Cup against Stuttgart," Magath said. "Now that we're so close, we want to move into international football."
Wolfsburg is unbeaten in its last three, tying Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern and defeating Eintracht earlier this week. Wolfsburg is seventh but just three off Stuttgart and Hamburg - two teams with 51 points and in the final two European spots.
Stuttgart and Hamburg had opportunities to open six-point cushions this week, but both lost. Stuttgart, despite two goals from Mario Gomez, was defeated by Borussia Dortmund, 3-2.
"There are only two games left for us to play now. Before this game we planned to win the final three matches, but now we must win the last two," Gomez said.
"We just have to put that game behind us now and focus our attention on the final two matches," Stuttgart captain Pavel Pardo said.
In the other games involving UEFA Cup contenders, eighth-place Hannover plays at Werder Bremen, which is trying to secure second place in the league. Sixth- place Bayer Leverkusen visits Rostock, which is last in the league and needs a lot of help to avoid relegation. Hamburg visits Energie, which is two points clear of the drop zone.
Three other clubs in the relegation struggle - Arminia Bielefeld, Duisburg and Nurnberg - face different tasks this week. Arminia Bielefeld hosts Dortmund, which just clinched its survival, Duisburg hosts champions Bayern and Nurnberg visits Hertha Berlin.
Schalke, which has been the second-best team in the second half of the season, hosts Eintracht with an eye on second place. The second-place team goes right to the group stage of the Champions League and the third-place team has to go through qualifying.
The only meaningless match this week is Bochum at Karlsruher. Bochum is clear of the relegation zone and Karlsruher, the surprise of the league for most of the season, can no longer qualify for the UEFA Cup.
<< Reds place Mercker on DL
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed relief pitcher
Kent Mercker on the 15-day disabled list on Friday, retroactive to May 6,
with lower back pain.
The 40-year-old left-hander has a 3.86 earned run average
<< Columbus gunning for fifth straight win at San Jose
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When asked how the Columbus Crew, who have
won four straight and five of six, could continue their early-season success,
forward Alejandro Moreno had a simple answer.
"Well," Moreno said, "we keep doing t
<< Cubs activate Eyre
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated pitcher Scott Eyre
from the 15-day disabled list and optioned left-handed pitcher Sean Marshall
to Triple-A Iowa on Friday.
Eyre, 35, has missed the first 34 games this seas
<< Phillies continue western swing in San Francisco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling San Francisco Giants will open a 10-game
homestand this evening, when they welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to AT&T
Park for the first of three straight games.
San Francisco has lost four in a
Golf Tidbits: Inkster's major streak to end >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There have been significant winning
streaks in golf over the years, and there have also been plenty of players who
have stressed family over golf. Occasionally the two intersect.
Consider the case of Juli
Houston looks for first win vs. first place Rapids >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The back-to-back defending Major League Soccer
Cup champion Houston Dynamo will be gunning for their first win of the 2008
season on Saturday night when they host the Colorado Rapids.
The struggling Dynam
Federer falls in Rome quarters >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer
suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek
Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters, a clay-court French Open tune-
up.
The un
Nash expects D'Antoni to stay despite speculation >>
PHOENIX (AP) -Despite rampant speculation that Mike D'Antoni is headed to Chicago or New York, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash expects his coach to be back on the Suns' bench next season.Beyond that, the two-time NBA MVP had little to say about the S
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers SPORTS TRASH TALK
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting