Brazil beats Ivory Coast to secure berth in next round

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06/20/2010 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Fabiano had two goals and Elano scored in his second straight match, helping Brazil secure a spot in the knockout round of the FIFA World Cup with a 3-1 win Sunday over Ivory Coast.

Fabiano scored in the 25th and 50th minutes, and Elano added the third goal in the 62nd minute at Soccer City Stadium, as Brazil sealed its 11th-straight appearance in the knockout stage.

Brazil opened with a 2-1 win over North Korea and leads Group G with two wins. Ivory Coast and Portugal have one point apiece. Portugal plays North Korea on Monday to wrap up the second round of Group G matches.

Brazil controlled the game from the opening minute when Robinho fired high on a 35-yard blast to set the tone. Gilberto Silva and Robinho followed with two quick shots in the 19th, but the first was deflected and the latter went well high.

Fabiano handed Brazil the lead inside 25 minutes, finishing a short pass from Kaka to open the scoring. Kaka was lucky to maintain possession just outside the penalty area and slid a pass through Ivory Coast defenders Siaka Tiene and Kolo Toure to send Fabiano into the box.

Fabiano fired into the top-right corner from a tight angle to finish the play, and was on target again five minutes into the second half as Brazil started to dominate the match.

Fabiano was a bit lucky on his second goal as he used two handballs to set up an otherwise hypnotizing finish. Fabiano initially settled the ball with his left arm with Tiene on his hip, then lifted the ball over Didier Zokora, and lastly juggled the ball over Toure to avoid all three defenders.

He then settled his own final maneuver against Toure by bringing the ball down off his upper arm and fired off goalie Boubacar Barry's fingertips and inside the right post.

Didier Drogba, who started for Ivory Coast, reached a cross from Aruna Dindane with his head in the 54th despite being defended by Maicon and Lucio, but he nodded the ball just inches wide of the right post.

Elano fired wide from 30 yards on the hour mark, and Kaka was denied by Barry after a quick passing combination with Robinho in the 61st as Brazil looked to seal the match.

Elano, who scored in Brazil's 2-1 win over North Korea, added his second goal of the tournament in the 62nd off a nice assist from Kaka, who drove down the left and slanted a cross back to the middle of the box for Elano to finish off from 10 yards.

Ivory Coast's Romaric forced a save by Brazil goalie Julio Cesar in the 74th, and Drogba cut the deficit by a goal five minutes later.

Gervinho made a nice run down the left and, without any options, slowed the play down and eventually slipped a pass outside the area to Yaya Toure. Toure lofted a pass into the area, and Drogba headed the ball from 12 yards inside the right post.

Both teams were involved in a scrum late in the match following a challenge by Kaka on Abdul Kader Kaita, who flopped to the ground and grabbed his face even though he was elbowed in the chest.

Kaka was eventually issued a yellow card, his second of the game, and was sent off and will miss Brazil's third group match against Portugal on Friday. Ivory Coast plays its final group match Friday against North Korea.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
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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).

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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.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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