Lescott helps City regain EPL lead

Soccer Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joleon Lescott scored the lone goal in the 63rd minute, Joe Hart capped his 11th shutout with a brilliant one-handed save in stoppage time, and Manchester City defeated Aston Villa, 1-0, at Villa Park on Sunday to regain first place in the English Premier League.

City lost its perch atop the table Saturday, as rival Manchester United downed Liverpool 2-1 to reach the summit. With just one road win in its last six away from home, City responded the way a championship contender should.

Although far from a dominant performance, Hart stayed solid in goal behind the top defense in the Premiership, and Lescott scored his second goal this season to secure a full three points on the road for City.

City climbed two points clear of United, and along with United and Tottenham, continue to pull away from the rest of the league with just 13 games left this season.

Manchester City got off to a solid start, as Sergio Aguero forced a save early and Adam Johnson drilled the right post from 24 yards inside 30 minutes.

City's breakthrough came soon after halftime, as a left-wing cross to the far side of the area was nodded back into the middle by Emile Heskey, and Lescott adjusted for a waist-high shot from 7 yards to beat Villa goalie Shave Given.

Villa had its chances late to grab a point, non better than when Bent fired a shot from about 6 yards that Hart denied on the line with a lunging stop with his right hand.

While City ended its road woes, Villa slumped to its second straight defeat as it slipped to 15th and sits just seven points above the relegation zone.

West Bromwich 5, Wolverhampton 1

Wolverhampton, England - Peter Odemwingie scored a hat trick as West Bromwich continued its impressive road form with a 5-1 win over Wolverhampton on Sunday at Molineux Stadium in the English Premier League.

West Bromwich has six of its eight wins - and 21 of 29 points - on the road so far this season, as it sits eight points clear of Wolverhampton and the bottom three in 14th place.

Odemwingie opened the scoring in the 35th, and added his last two goals after the 75th. Jonas Olsson and Keith Andrews also scored for Wolves, which scored four of its goals after half.

Steven Fletcher scored his 10th goal of the season in first-half stoppage time as Wolverhampton leveled the game at 1-1, but West Bromwich's explosive second half left his squad 18th and just two points off the bottom of the table after its third loss in its last four.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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