Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/23/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following a successful first season in Major League Soccer, Seattle Sounders FC has fallen on hard times as they enter Sunday's contest with the Colorado Rapids at Qwest Field in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
Seattle had won just once in its last seven games prior to a 1-0 win over D.C. United on July 15, with the lone goal coming in the 89th minute from Roger Levesque.
"The three points is everything - we're just so happy," Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller told mlssoccer.com. "We needed something to go our way. We've played well enough to win games, and we've given up late goals for draws, and it just felt good to keep that clean sheet, and to win 1-0, and for Roger to pop up at the end."
The Sounders will be hoping that the win can help turn around what has been a forgettable season to this point as the club owns just five wins from its first 17 games.
Seattle is 11 points back of second-place Real Salt Lake in the West, and with only the top two sides in each conference automatically qualifying for the playoffs, they have much work to do.
One player who could provide a boost is striker and designated player Blaise Nkufo, who was added to the team's active roster on July 15.
Nkufo played with Switzerland at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this summer, and he could form a potent partnership up top with Fredy Montero, who leads Seattle with six goals this season.
The Rapids have lost only once in their last eight games, but they have been left frustrated by a string of draws that has left them tied for fourth place with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Colorado was held to a 1-1 draw by the Kansas City Wizards last time out, and although he was disappointed with the result, coach Gary Smith still felt good about where his team is going.
"Expectations get so high when a group's playing well, to then maybe come into a game and be below form creates huge disappointment for everyone," Smith told mlssoccer.com. "I went away and thought about it. It was the first time in 10 or 12 games when we haven't controlled proceedings and looked the better team."
Sunday will mark the first of three successive games against Western Conference foes for the Rapids, with matches against FC Dallas and San Jose to follow, so Smith's team will have a good chance to improve upon its current standing.
<< Wells, Cubs blank Cards to begin weekend series at Wrigley
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wells turned in seven scoreless innings,
and three different players hit home runs, as Chicago downed St. Louis, 5-0 in
the opener of a three-game set between these perennial rivals at Wrigley
Field.
<< Melzer and Golubev advance to semis in Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jurgen Melzer and Andrey Golubev were
two of four quarterfinal winners at the German Open Tennis Championships
on Friday.
Melzer dispatched Potito Starace of Italy, 6-4, 6-1, in only 69 minu
<< Kings sign free agents Wright and Jeter
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings have signed
forward/guard Antoine Wright and guard Pooh Jeter, the team announced Friday.
Wright averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 67 contests for
Toron
<< Timberwolves' Kahn fined for inappropriate remarks
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball
operations David Kahn has been fined $50,000 for his recent remarks about
forward Michael Beasley, for whom the team recently traded.
Kahn spoke about Beasl
Chen and Dambaugh in U.S. Girls' Junior final >>
Village of Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doris Chen and Katelyn Dambaugh
won both of their matches on Friday to advance to the final of the U.S. Girls'
Junior Championship.
Chen first knocked off stroke-play medalist Danielle Ka
Orioles' Wigginton suspended, will appeal >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton has
been suspended by Major League Baseball for three games for his on-field
argument and subsequent volatile reaction with an umpire in Thursday's game
against
Coaches: Players also responsible for agent probe >>
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) -Tennessee coach Derek Dooley and Auburn's Gene Chizik both say the onus isn't just on agents to follow the rules, college athletes know the difference between right and wrong.``A lot of this has got to go back to the young guy,''
Thomas and Liu in finals of U.S. Junior >>
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Thomas and Jim Liu both won twice on Friday
to advance to Saturday's 36-hole final of the U.S. Junior Amateur
Championship.
Thomas, 17, earned a 2 & 1 victory over Scott Wolfes
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting