11/18/2008 - Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal striker Joseba Llorente will miss the next month after suffering a leg muscle injury.
The in-form forward has scored nine goals in 15 appearances since joining the Yellow Submarine from Valladolid during the summer.
However, the 28-year-old suffered a leg injury during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Malaga, in which he scored his side's second goal.
"He will be out for a month," confirmed Villarreal in a brief statement.
Llorente is now likely to miss the league matches against his former club, Recreativo Huelva, Getafe and Sevilla, as well as the Champions League games against Manchester United and Celtic.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Everton's Moyes baffled by Pienaar situation
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton manager David Moyes is baffled
as to why South Africa are upset by his refusal to allow Steven Pienaar to team
up with the rest of the Bafana Bafana squad.
South Africa are scheduled to play C
<< NFC South: Saints hoping win serves as a springboard
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Things haven't quite gone as planned for the New Orleans
Saints for much of the 2008 season, with injuries, inconsistency and even a
little in-fighting all contributing to the unwanted 4-5 record the team
brought into this p
<< AC Milan denies reports linking Shevchenko to Real
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan has dismissed reports that Andriy
Shevchenko is poised to join Real Madrid.
The Ukraine striker was linked with a move to the Bernabeu as cover for Real's
injured striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
<< Stoke City's Lawrence hopes to return next month
Stoke-in-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City midfielder Liam Lawrence
believes he will be ready for a first-team return in time for the busy festive
programme.
The 26-year-old former Mansfield Town star has been sidelined since t
NFC West: Real test begins for the Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a four-game lead in the NFC West after Sunday's
26-20 victory over Seattle -- the club that has won the last four division
titles -- the Arizona Cardinals appear a lock to win their first division
crown since claiming th
Portsmouth's Diarra likely to miss several weeks >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth boss Tony Adams fears that
key midfielder Lassana Diarra may be sidelined for several weeks with the ankle
injury he suffered in the goalless draw at West Ham United.
The 23-year-old form
Ex-Inter boss Mancini named top coach in Serie A >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has
been named the Serie A coach of the year for last season.
Mancini, 43, was dumped by Inter in favor of Jose Mourinho during the summer
despite leading the clu
Arshavin's 'dream' to play at Bayern Munich >>
St. Petersburg, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Arshavin's potential move to
one of Europe's major leagues has taken another twist after the Russia star
claimed it would be "a dream" to join Bayern Munich.
The 27-year-old midfielder
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting