Magic Messi leads Barca past Stuttgart

Soccer Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi scored two goals and helped set up another on Wednesday as Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 win over Stuttgart in the second leg of their Round of 16 contest in the Champions League.

Messi scored his first goal in the 13th minute to open the scoring, while Pedro added a second goal nine minutes later and Messi scored again on the hour mark before substitute Bojan Krkic capped the evening with a strike in the 89th minute.

The result gives the defending champions a 5-1 aggregate victory and moves them into the quarterfinals of the competition after a 1-1 draw in Germany in the first leg.

Many people were surprised by the fact that Stuttgart entered Wednesday's game on level terms with the Spanish giants, but Barca quickly took control of the game with a goal in the 13th minute from Messi, who took a pass in midfield, carried the ball to the top of the penalty area and fired a shot between two defenders that found the upper corner of the net.

It was a great individual effort from the Argentine, and he had a hand in Barca's second goal nine minutes later.

Messi chipped a ball into the box for Yaya Toure and he immediately squared it to Pedro in front of goal for a simple tap in.

The home side had things well in hand as the second half began, and after Toure went close with a shot from 20 yards, Messi scored from just about the same spot after turning a defender and driving a low effort past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Messi had a chance to complete his hat trick eight minutes later when a pinpoint cross from Daniel Alves allowed him to head the ball on goal from close range, but Lehmann reacted well to keep it out.

A pair of substitutes then combined for Barca's fourth goal as Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a ball to Bojan in behind the Stuttgart defense and he neatly finished off the play.

Bordeaux became the second team from Ligue 1 to reach the quarterfinals as they held off Olympiacos, 2-1 on Wednesday to earn a 3-1 aggregate win.

Yoann Gourcuff scored five minutes into the match for Bordeaux, while Konstantinos Mitroglou equalized 25 minutes from time. However, Marouane Chamakh put the result out of reach with his header two minutes from time after a cross from Benoit Tremoulinas.

Vegaas Soccer Betting News

<< Radwanska ousts Dementieva to reach Indian Wells semis
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capable Pole Agnieszka Radwanska upended Russian star Elena Dementieva on Wednesday to reach the semifinals at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open. The fifth-seeded Radwanska dismissed the fourth-seeded Deme

<< United signs defender Admas
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United signed defender Lyle Adams to a developmental contract, the Major League Soccer club announced on Wednesday. "We're excited to sign Lyle after identifying him at last year's draft as a play

<< Canucks F Samuelsson out 2-to-3 weeks
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks forward Mikael Samuelsson is expected to miss the next 2-to-3 weeks with what the team is terming an upper-body injury. The Vancouver Sun is reporting the injury is shoulder-relate

<< Niners add CB Paymah
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers agreed to terms with cornerback Karl Paymah on a one-year contract on Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 27-year-old spent the 2009 season with Minnesot

<< Browns re-sign three
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns announced the re-signing of linebacker Marcus Benard, linebacker Blake Costanzo and running back Chris Jennings on Wednesday. All three had been exclusive rights players, meaning they

Vikings agree to terms with DT Kennedy >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings re-signed veteran defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy on Wednesday. He joined the club in December 2008 and had a productive 2009 campaign, racking up 18 tackles and three sacks

Leighton to miss time with ankle sprain >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton is slated to miss time following an injury suffered on Tuesday. Leighton left the Flyers' 4-3 shootout loss at Nashville with a high ankle spr

Lloyd steps down as British Davis Cup captain >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lloyd has stepped down at Britain's Davis Cup captain. The Brits have lost their last five ties, with its' most-recent one being an embarrassing setback at the hands of Lithuania. World No. 4 An

Ljubicic stuns Djokovic at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former top-five performer Ivan Ljubicic upset world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in Wednesday's fourth-round action at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open. The 20th-seeded Ljubicic toppled the second-seeded Djoko

Cliff Lee dealt five-game suspension >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball handed down a five- game suspension and an undisclosed fine to Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee Wednesday. MLB's ruling indicated Lee intentionally threw at the head of Arizona c

NFL Football Office Pools : NFL Football Contests

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

Welcome to our free football office pool page. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

Football Pickem Pools: Your basic office pool format, where you pick the winner of each game, either against the spread or straight up. Spice up your pool by using confidence ranks, key picks, and other options. Pick 5 pools available. You can print NFL Football Office Pools here. Custom ranks available. Custom point spreads. Use Pro and/or College games, even D1AA games can be included. Many many other options.

Football Survivor Pools: Also known as Knockout, Suicide, Eliminator, Survival and Loser pools. Pick one team each week. If they win you advance to the next round. If they lose, you're out. The catch: You can only pick a team once. Many options like Pick a Team Only [Once,Twice,Unlimited], [1,2,3,4,5] Strikes and You're Out, Double Picks, Bye Weeks, Alias Entries and more. Very easy to set up and manage.

Football Share Pools: Pick college and/or pro football game winners using Vegas odds in our own unique Share Pool format. Accumulate points by picking pointspread and over/under winners. Risk as many points as you want on any game. The person with the most points (shares) at the end wins. Perfect for the Playoffs and Bowl Seasons.

Fantasy Football Pools: Fantasy football pool managers love our easy to use interface and custom settings. Points and head to head leagues, custom points, offline drafts, live scoring, waiver wire, trades and more. Live customer service by email or phone. $50 flat fee.

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