11/16/2008 - Andalusia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi and Seydou Keita scored in the second half as Barcelona topped Recreativo 2-0 on Sunday in Spain's La Liga to open a three-point gap atop the standings and extend its unbeaten streak to 16.
Barcelona has won nine straight La Liga matches and is 14-0-2 in its last 16 in all competitions. Overall, Barca is 16-1-2 this season in all events.
Surprisingly, Barca's only loss was in its league opener against promoted club Numancia. After a tie against Racing, the Camp Nou club has been unstoppable in La Liga.
Messi opened the scoring in the 51st minute against Recreativio and Keita put the match away with an easy tap-in in the 85th at Estadio Nuevo Colombino.
Recreativo had one of the best chances in the first half when Cesar Arzo headed a Adrian Colunga cross on goal, but Barca goalie Victor Valdes made the save.
Barcelona caught Recreativo napping early in the second half to take the lead. Xavi played a short free kick to the left side to Messi, who was left unmarked. The Argentine striker settled the pass with one touch, then fired into the top left corner from close range.
Recreativo had a few chances to get back in the match, its best in the 63rd on a header from Cisse that hit the left post.
Barca put the pressure on Recreativo over the final 25 minutes, starting with a open chance for Samuel Eto'o that he sent right at goalie Asier Riesgo.
Eto'o hit the crossbar in the 71st minute, then fired wide on another open shot minutes later. He finally helped Barca grab the lead in the 85th with an assist on Keita's goal.
Thierry Henry crossed the ball from the left to Eto'o on the right side of the area. Eto'o drove the ball toward the far post, and Keita was there to tap it in for an easy finish.
Barca's Rafael Marquez nearly added a third goal in stoppage time but hit the crossbar.
Recreativo remained near the bottom of the league. It is ahead of only winless Osasuna in the standings.
Villarreal remained unbeaten, but settled for its fourth draw through 11 weeks when Malaga's Helder Rosario scored in the 90th minute for a 2-2 draw.
American-born Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente scored for the Yellow Submarines, who slipped three points behind Barca.
Duda had Malaga's first goal, sending a perfect free kick into the upper right corner in the first half. Rosario got the tying goal off a corner kick when he headed the ball on the near side and directed it inside the far post.
Sevilla topped Getafe 2-0 to pull level in points with third-place Valencia and fourth-place Real Madrid. Luis Fabiano and Tom De Mul scored for Sevilla.
Sixth-place Atletico Madrid got a pair of goals from Diego Forlan in a 4-1 win over Deportivo.
In the rest of Sunday's games, Negredo had both goals in Almeria's 2-1 win over Mallorca, Sergio Garcia scored twice in Real Betis' 3-1 win over Racing, Jose Barkero and Carlos Llorens scored in final five minutes to help Numancia rally for a 4-3 win over Espanyol and Fernando Llorente scored his sixth goal to help Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna 2-0.
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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