Chelsea's Deco wants to return to Brazil

Soccer Betting Lines

03/02/2010 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea midfielder Deco seems certain to leave London this summer and return to his native Brazil.

The Portugal international moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona at the beginning of last season on a three-year contract but has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular during his time in the capital.

He was quoted in The Sun as saying: "I want to go back to Brazil. I still have a couple of good years of high-level football in me but I want to be near my kids.

"Ideally, I'd like to go after the World Cup and I've been talking to Chelsea about it. It will all depend on Chelsea - if the club release me or let me go on loan."

The 32-year-old ex-FC Porto midfielder was linked with a move away from Chelsea last summer with Inter Milan his preferred choice, only to eventually remain in the Premier League.

Deco has scored six goals in 52 first-team appearances during his time with the club.

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Casino--casino--casino Soccer Betting News

<< Oregon State extends hoops coach Robinson
Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon State and men's head basketball coach Craig Robinson have agreed in principle on a two-year contract extension through the 2015-16 season. The announcement from Oregon State director of athletic

<< Juve striker Amauri out with thigh injury
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus striker Amauri will miss up to a month of football with a thigh injury. The development comes at a crucial point in Juventus' season, as The Old Lady lie in sixth place, 10 points behind Roma

<< Miller expected to sit for Sabres on Tuesday
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller is expected to sit Tuesday when his team returns from the Olympic break with a contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Miller backstopped the United States to a

<< Chelios signed by Thrashers
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios is returning to the National Hockey League, signing a contract Tuesday to play for the Atlanta Thrashers. Chelios was an unrestricted free agent and recently inked a thir

<< U.S. names Kubik assistant coach
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States coach Bob Bradley named ex-Czech international Lubos Kubik an assistant coach for the national team Tuesday. Kubik's 20-year playing career included stints in Italy, France and Germany, and a

Kings F Nocioni suspended >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA announced Tuesday a two-game suspension without pay for Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni after he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol. Nocioni was arrested

Eastern Washington gives Earlywine contract extension >>
Cheney, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Washington has given men's basketball coach Kirk Earlywine a contract extension through next season. Earlywine just completed his third season with the Eagles and has posted a record of 32-58, in

Royals sign Hochevar, Rosa for 2010 >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have agreed to contracts with pitchers Luke Hochevar and Carlos Rosa for the 2010 season. Hochevar was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft and debuted for the big league

Glazers rule out selling United >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Glazer family is adamant that they have no intention of selling Manchester United. A group called the "Red Knights" are reported to be interested in buying the recent Carling Cup winners from the

Real, Barca are world's richest clubs >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona has overtaken Manchester United in the latest rich list of European clubs. Real Madrid still top the Deloitte Football Money League but Barca are now second ahead of United, largely becaus

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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