Celtic, Rangers need late goals to earn draws

Soccer Betting Lines

12/13/2008 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen McManus scored in the 79th minute as Celtic tied Hearts 1-1 and Kyle Lafferty scored in the 76th as Rangers tied Dundee United 2-2 on Saturday in games pitting the top four teams the Scottish Premier League.

Three-time defending champion Celtic retained its four-point lead over Rangers, but third-place Dundee and fourth-place Hearts both pushed the Scottish powers.

Hearts is 14 points behind Celtic in fourth - with one less match played - but stunned the leaders at Celtic Park when Andrew Driver opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.

Driver drove a left-footed shot from six yards past Celtic goalie Artur Boruc, a lead that stood for more than 50 minutes. McManus finally delivered the tying goal in the 79th, heading past Janos Balogh from six yards.

Rangers got off to a good start at Tannadice Park when striker Kris Boyd bagged his 15th goal of the season - which easily leads the SPL - in the 11th minute.

Boyd scored off a left-footed shot from 18 yards, picking out the bottom left corner to increase his league-leading total.

Dundee fired back early in the second half, getting goals from Lee Wilkie and Warren Freeney five minutes apart. Wilkie leveled the game in the 50th, scoring from six yards out into the upper left and Feeney headed into the bottom right in the 54th from about the same distance.

Lafferty helped Rangers escape with a draw - and remain 10 points head of its nearest challenger for second - with a right-footed shot from 12 yards to the bottom right corner.

Also Saturday, Derek Riordan and Robert Jones scored to lead Hibernian to a 2-0 win over last-place Hamilton, Lee Miller scored twice for his eighth and ninth goals of the season to lead Aberdeen to a 2-1 win over Falkirk, and Andy Dorman and Garry Brady scored in St. Mirren's 2-0 win over Iverness.

On Sunday, Motherwell hosts Kilmarnock.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.