Ghana carries the weight of a continent

Soccer Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teams from the African continent have made steady progress on the sport's biggest stage starting since 1990, when Cameroon became the first team from Africa to reach the quarterfinals.

Nigeria followed up by advancing to the second round of the tournament in 1994 and 1998, before a surprising run to the quarterfinals by Senegal in 2002.

In 2006 it was Ghana's turn to shine, as the Black Stars advanced from a tough group that included Italy and the Czech Republic to reach the second round before bowing out to Brazil.

When the 2010 World Cup was awarded to South Africa, it represented another step forward for the continent as a whole.

Many questioned whether or not the country was fit to host an event of this magnitude, with worker's strikes and slow ticket sales dominating the headlines during the build-up.

But things have gone well so far for the African continent - other than the games themselves.

Much has been written about how important it is that the continent is staging the World Cup, but the performance of its teams is also crucial in establishing Africa's place in the global pecking order.

With six African teams taking part in the competition, surely a few would advance beyond the group stage and possibly further, marking another step forward for African football.

However, after African teams combined to put together a record of 3-10-5 in 18 group stage-matches, Ghana is the only hope left standing.

There are a variety of reasons for the general failure of the African sides, ranging from a tough draw to injuries to poor judgement. But if Ghana is able to become the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, it would save the continent's blushes.

South Africa was the victim of timing more than anything else as they picked a bad year to host the World Cup.

Bafana Bafana had much better teams take part in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, led by a prime Benni McCarthy as well as top players like Aaron Mokoena and Shaun Bartlett.

The team didn't play poorly as they went 1-1-1 in Group A, but they still became the first host nation to fail to advance beyond the group stage.

Nigeria was a good bet to finish second in Group B behind Argentina, but following a tough 1-0 defeat to the South American side in their opener, the Super Eagles went up 1-0 on Greece before a foolish red card from Sani Kaita allowed an inferior Greek team to rally for a 2-1 win.

This left Nigeria in a terrible spot, and they could only manage a 2-2 draw with South Korea, despite getting the better of the play.

Not a lot was expected from Algeria in Group C, but they proved tougher than expected as they earned a draw with England and lost in stoppage time to the United States before bowing out.

The same cannot be said of Cameroon, which has to go down as one of the most disappointing teams in the entire World Cup.

Captain Samuel Eto'o bristled at criticism from the legendary Roger Milla prior to the tournament, and he even threatened to withdraw before the team crashed to three defeats in three games.

Ivory Coast was labeled as maybe the best hope for an African semifinalist prior to the World Cup draw, but after being drawn into a group with Brazil and Portugal, those expectations were tempered a bit.

The fact that star striker Didier Drogba suffered a broken arm in a friendly with Japan less than two weeks before the team's opener also didn't help matters.

Ivory Coast's first game came against Portugal, and it was probably the most crucial of the tournament for Les Elephants. But because of his injury, Drogba was limited to just 25 ineffective minutes of action off the bench, and the game finished 0-0.

Even Ghana needed a bit of good fortune to advance on the final day of Group D play. After losing 1-0 to Germany, the Black Stars would have been eliminated had Serbia rallied to tie Australia, 2-2. However, the Socceroos held out for a 2-1 win that now gives the African continent one team to get behind.

The fact that Ghana has moved on despite the absence of its best player, midfielder Michael Essien, should not be overlooked. But the team has used some good fortune and a bit of hard work to get to the next round.

And after a very favorable draw that serves up the United States in the round of 16 and a potential quarterfinal matchup with either Uruguay or South Korea, Ghana's hopes of making history for Africa are very real.

And they can be sure that an entire continent will be watching.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.