Celtic, Rangers need late goals to earn draws

Soccer Betting Lines

12/13/2008 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen McManus scored in the 79th minute as Celtic tied Hearts 1-1 and Kyle Lafferty scored in the 76th as Rangers tied Dundee United 2-2 on Saturday in games pitting the top four teams the Scottish Premier League.

Three-time defending champion Celtic retained its four-point lead over Rangers, but third-place Dundee and fourth-place Hearts both pushed the Scottish powers.

Hearts is 14 points behind Celtic in fourth - with one less match played - but stunned the leaders at Celtic Park when Andrew Driver opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.

Driver drove a left-footed shot from six yards past Celtic goalie Artur Boruc, a lead that stood for more than 50 minutes. McManus finally delivered the tying goal in the 79th, heading past Janos Balogh from six yards.

Rangers got off to a good start at Tannadice Park when striker Kris Boyd bagged his 15th goal of the season - which easily leads the SPL - in the 11th minute.

Boyd scored off a left-footed shot from 18 yards, picking out the bottom left corner to increase his league-leading total.

Dundee fired back early in the second half, getting goals from Lee Wilkie and Warren Freeney five minutes apart. Wilkie leveled the game in the 50th, scoring from six yards out into the upper left and Feeney headed into the bottom right in the 54th from about the same distance.

Lafferty helped Rangers escape with a draw - and remain 10 points head of its nearest challenger for second - with a right-footed shot from 12 yards to the bottom right corner.

Also Saturday, Derek Riordan and Robert Jones scored to lead Hibernian to a 2-0 win over last-place Hamilton, Lee Miller scored twice for his eighth and ninth goals of the season to lead Aberdeen to a 2-1 win over Falkirk, and Andy Dorman and Garry Brady scored in St. Mirren's 2-0 win over Iverness.

On Sunday, Motherwell hosts Kilmarnock.

Wwwsportbet Soccer Betting News

<< Khedira helps Stuttgart steal point against Bayern
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sami Khedira scored twice, including the tying goal in the 90th minute, and Stuttgart tied 10-man Bayern Munich 2-2 in the German Bundesliga on Saturday. Bayern, which got goals from Tim Borowski and

<< Oilers activate Nilsson from IR
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers activated left wing Robert Nilsson from injured reserve on Saturday. Nilsson suffered an upper body injury on November 30 in Dallas during a 4-3 loss to the Stars and has missed t

<< Tigers non-tender pitcher Lopez
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers announced their decision to non-tender pitcher Aquilino Lopez on Saturday. The right-hander was not offered a contract after appearing in 48 games for the Tigers last season, registeri

<< Sharks try to remain hot at home against Blues
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have been unbeatable at home in 60 minutes this season. They'll end a five-game homestand and shoot for a seventh straight win over the St. Louis Blues tonight at HP Pavilion. San Jose is 3-0-1 so far o

<< Canucks end long road trip in Edmonton
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will bring their season-long road trip to a close tonight, when they visit the Edmonton Oilers and Rexall Place. The Canucks play their seventh straight as the visiting club tonight, and have won just

Report: Cheeks shown the door in Philadelphia >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maurice Cheeks is out as Philadelphia 76ers head coach, according to a report in various media outlets. In a somewhat surprising Saturday afternoon move, general manager Ed Stefanski fired Cheeks

Embree, Rockies agree to one-year contract >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies signed veteran southpaw Alan Embree to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2010 on Saturday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Embree, who will be 39 when the

Owls upset No. 8 Tennessee >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dionte Christmas led all scorers with 35 points, as Temple shocked eighth-ranked Tennessee with an 88-72 rout at the Liacouras Center. Christmas hit 12-of-22 shots from the floor, including 7-of-1

Carolina activates D Gleason off IR >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes activated defenseman Tim Gleason from injured reserve on Saturday. Gleason, 25, missed Carolina's last eight games with a leg injury he suffered against the Nashville Predators on No

49ers place WR Battle on IR; sign RB Clayton to practice squad >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco placed wide receiver Arnaz Battle on injured reserve with a foot injury and signed running back Thomas Clayton to the 53-man roster on Saturday. Clayton was signed because of an ankle

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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


NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.