05/09/2008 - Milan, Italy (Soccer Betting) - After failing to secure its third straight scudetto last Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to rivals AC Milan, Inter Milan will attempt to lift the title once again with a home victory against Siena on Sunday.
Inter's loss coupled with a Roma win closed the gap to just three points with two games remaining, however Inter owns the head-to-head tiebreaker should the two clubs finish level on points, meaning a win on Sunday will be enough to keep the trophy in Milan.
While the derby defeat to the Rossoneri was tough to swallow, and only added to the speculation that manager Roberto Mancini will be gone at the end of the season, Inter rebounded by beating Lazio 2-0 in the second leg of its Italian Cup semifinal, putting them into the final against Roma for the second straight season.
Injuries have been a major problem for Mancini's men in recent months and he will likely be without defenders Cristian Chivu and Nicolas Burdisso, who both sustained injuries in the win over Lazio.
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has still not yet recovered from a knee problem, while defender Marco Materazzi will take part in the match despite picking up a red card against Lazio. He will be able to play in league games but likely faces a suspension for the Cup final.
Roma must be ready to produce another strong effort like the one they put forward last week in a 3-0 win over Sampdoria. The capital club will host Atalanta on Sunday, but their title hopes will end if Inter beats Siena.
Juventus has already clinched third place and will host Catania, while AC Milan took over fourth place with its win against Inter and will travel to Napoli.
Fiorentina is two points back and will need three points from relegation- threatened Parma, while Udinese is three points behind the Viola and hosts Cagliari.
Last-place Livorno must win at home to Torino to have a shot at safety, while second-from-the-bottom Empoli faces a huge relegation battle at Reggina, which is just three points ahead of Empoli.
Lazio travels to Genoa, and Sampdoria needs three points against Palermo to keep its European hopes in good standing.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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