Chelsea held to draw despite Drogba's double
Soccer Betting Lines
12/26/2006 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only three days after Chelsea narrowly escaped Wigan with the maximum points on Arjen Robben's stoppage time goal, the Blues were not so lucky on Tuesday. Ashley Cole's late miscue led to an own goal, forcing Chelsea to settle for a 2-2 draw with Reading and dropping crucial points at Stamford Bridge.
The news got worse for Chelsea, as front-runners Manchester United got two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo en route to a 3-1 win over Wigan, increasing the Red Devils advantage to four points in the standings over Chelsea.
Didier Drogba continued his fantastic campaign with two goals in the match, the second coming in the 72nd minute to put Chelsea ahead 2-1. It looked as though Jose Mourinho's men would hang on for all three points and keep the heat on United, but then disaster struck in the 85th minute.
Reading's Kevin Doyle played a cross into the box that Cole, who came on as a second-half substitute, should have dealt with easily. However, the English international hurried his clearance, blasting it into teammate Michael Essien. The ball bounded off Essien and into the back of Chelsea's goal past a horrified Hilario.
The game started off well for Chelsea, with the Blues pressing forward and creating a myriad of chances.
Drogba missed a handful of opportunities, while strike partner Salomon Kalou and midfielder Frank Lampard also had narrow misses. Despite failing in his early efforts, Drogba atoned in the 38th minute to put Chelsea ahead.
A Lampard corner found the head of the Ivory Coast international, whose driving header crossed the goal line despite the efforts of Reading's Nicky Shorey, who could not keep it out.
Reading responded well after the restart, and pulled level in the 67th minute. Lampard lost possession in the midfield and Glen Little took hold of the ball and beat Essien down the right flank. Little then served up a ball in the Chelsea box that Leroy Lita slammed home with a diving header, making it a 1-1 match.
The home side had a quick answer, however, and surged back in front just five minutes later. Shaun Wright-Phillips set up Drogba's second tally of the match as he raced down the wing and crossed for Drogba, who was set up at the back post. Drogba made no mistake and finished easily for what many Chelsea supporters thought would be the match-winner.
The Stamford Bridge faithful then watched in disbelief as Cole's ill-fated clearance cost Chelsea a chance to move into the top spot in the Premiership.
In other EPL action on Tuesday, Jermain Defoe helped Tottenham down Aston Villa with a pair of goals in a 2-1 win, Linvoy Primus also hit the back of the net twice to lead Portsmouth to a 2-1 victory over West Ham at Upton Park. Blackburn moved four points clear of relegation as Benny McCarthy scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Rovers win over Liverpool, Nicolas Anelka handed Bolton three points with a 57th-minute goal in a 2-1 win over Newcastle, Everton and Middlesbrough played to a 0-0 stalemate, Stephen Ireland's first league goal of the season gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United while Arsenal and Watford were tied at one at the break in the later game.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
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