Italy takes back top spot

Soccer Betting Lines

09/19/2007 - Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings for the month of September were released on Wednesday, and they saw Italy regain the top spot by moving ahead of both Argentina and Brazil.

The Italians win over Ukraine in EURO 2008 qualifying was enough to knock Brazil from the top spot down to third, while Argentina remained in second.

Those top three teams have a comfortable edge on the rest of the field, which is lead by Germany, who moved up one spot into fourth. France fell two places after losing to Scotland in EURO qualifying, while the Netherlands took advantage and jumped up into the top five.

Spain sits in seventh, up one place, while Croatia and the Czech Republic both dropped. The Czechs fell two spots into 11th, while Croatia lost four places but stays in the top 10 at 10th. Capitalizing on this was Portugal, who is up two rankings into eighth, while England moves back into the top 10 at ninth with a three-spot improvement.

The Scots used that win over France, as well as one over Lithuania, to climb to their highest ever spot in the rankings, up nine places to 14th.

Mexico dropped two spots to 13th, but still remains the highest rated team in CONCACAF because the United States moved down one spot to 18th after dropping a 4-2 contest to Brazil. Friendlies in October against Catalonia and Switzerland will give the Stars and Stripes a chance to improve on that ranking.

There was plenty of movement outside of the top 50 teams, but Colombia and Guinea both enjoyed big jumps within the top 50. The South American club climbed seven spots to 24th, while Guinea enjoyed a 12-spot improvement to reach 30th.

The biggest drop in the rankings was suffered by Bosnia-Herzegovina, who lost 14 spots down to 39th. Cameroon also had a tough month, dropping nine places to 25th.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings will be released on October 24.

Points are accumulated based on the results of a team's matches over the past four years, the importance of each match, the strength of the opponent, the strength of the region and the number of matches per year that each team plays.

Socceronlinegamble Soccer Betting News

<< Pinch-hitter Barajas helps Phillies outlast Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Rod Barajas knocked in the go- ahead run in the 14th inning as the Philadelphia Phillies outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4, in the middle game of a three-game set at Busch Stadium. Chas

<< Lackey shines as Angels edge Devil Rays
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey pitched eight-plus solid innings as the LA Angels of Anaheim downed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 2-1, in the second of a three-game set at Angel Stadium. Lackey (17-9) gave up just one run

<< Ibanez's grand slam lifts M's over A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul Ibanez belted the fifth grand slam of his career to lead the Seattle Mariners to an 8-7 win over the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum. Ibanez ended with five RBI for Seattle, which has captured t

<< Mets continue slide with loss at RFK
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronnie Belliard's three-run go-ahead homer highlighted a five-run fifth inning, as Washington defeated the struggling New York Mets, 9-8, at RFK Stadium. Belliard ended 3-for-4 with two runs scored and A

<< Padres maintain wild card lead in win over Pirates
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalil Greene went 3-for-3 with two RBI as the San Diego Padres maintained their wild-card lead by winning the second game of a four-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3. Adrian Gonzalez went 2-

Typhoon Wipha wipes out Wednesday's games >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FIFA decided to move all four of Wednesday's games to Thursday based on the latest weather reports about typhoon Wipha. FIFA originally moved the Ghana-Norway and Denmark-Brazil co

Davenport wins; Kuznetsova withdraws at China Open >>
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lindsay Davenport continued her successful comeback to singles play with another victory on Wednesday, while defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew from the China Open. Davenport earned a 6-0,

With cameras rolling, Pats don't disappoint >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the wake of the New England Patriots cheating scandal last week, pundits emerged on all sides of the issue to both defend and condemn the team and its coaches. YouTube videos were crafted, past victims cried bloody murder,

Ravens sign LB Greisen >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens signed free agent linebacker Nick Greisen on Wednesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 28-year-old Greisen was released by Jacksonville on September 1

Braves try to keep playoff hopes alive in finale with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Chuck James looks for his third win against Florida in four decisions tonight when the Atlanta Braves close out a three-game series with the Marlins at Turner Field. The Braves, who won 4-3 on Tuesday, are still clin

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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