08/22/2008 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake travels to Columbus to take on the Crew in Major League Soccer action between two second-place teams on Saturday.
While neither team was in the playoffs a year ago, both seem to have a bead on spots in the 2008 MLS Cup playoffs thanks to some surprising play that has each near the top of their respective conference tables.
The Crew are second in the league with a 10-6-4 record, just two points back of Eastern Conference and league-leading New England while RSL is 7-7-6 and five points back in the much weaker Western Conference table.
The Crew are coming off a 2-1 win over FC Dallas in which they entered the second half down a goal after being thoroughly outplayed in the opening frame. The team showed its character after the break, however, to get it's 10th win of the season.
"I didn't think we played well in the first half, we were lucky," Columbus coach Sigi Schmid said. "We were just off, we were a little bit lethargic, but as you said, the character of the team is great. They listen to what we have to say at halftime, they came out in the second half with a lot more energy. We were a lot more direct with our play, we stretched their defense, got behind them, and as a result of that we started to create some chances and then the goals came."
RSL is coming off a disappointing 4-3 loss at Western leading Houston in which the team gave up four first-half goals en route to the one-goal loss.
"We definitely wanted to come get three points and make a statement that we're for real," RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "We wanted to come down and really put it to them. But they're a good team, and they play really well in Houston in all this heat."
The four goals allowed by RSL matched the total it had allowed in the previous 10 games combined, dating back to May 31.
A positive for RSL is it scored three goals against a solid Houston defense in the loss.
"There were good things all over the field," RSL forward Robbie Findley said. "We wanted to come out early and try to press them and get a goal early if we could, and that happened. ... I think every one of our forwards who came in got at least point, and that's a good sign. We've just got to get back to being stingy on defense and continue scoring goals."
Both teams enter Saturday's match relatively healthy, with the only significant absence being Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo, who plays Saturday afternoon for Nigeria against Argentina in the Olympic gold medal match.
<< D.C., Colorado battle for positioning in respective conferences
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United hosts the Colorado Rapids on
Saturday in a Major League Soccer match between two clubs desperate for a
positive result.
United is coming off a mid-week fixture that saw it fall to Easter
<< Wizards, Hoops searching for consistency
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas hits the road when it travels to
take on the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer action at
CommmunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday.
The teams have identical 6-7-7 records, but
<< Fish swims into second straight Pilot Pen final
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in two years, American
Mardy Fish will play in the final at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a
final U.S. Open tune-up.
The eighth-seeded Fish upset top-seeded Spaniard Fernando Ve
<< QB Edwards out for Bills preseason game against Colts
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bills starting quarterback Trent Edwards
will sit out Buffalo's preseason game at Indianapolis on Sunday due to a deep
thigh contusion.
J.P. Losman will start in Edwards' place. Edwards, a second-year
Safarova, Peng land in Forest Hills final >>
Forest Hills, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Czech Lucie Safarova and Chinese
Shuai Peng will square off in Saturday's final at the $74,800 Forest Hills
Tennis Classic, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
The unseeded Safarova upended third-s
Pirates bring Mientkiewicz back from bereavement list >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates reinstated first
baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the bereavement list on Friday.
Mientkiewicz left the team on Monday to be with his wife, Jodi, who underwent
heart surgery for
Houston, New York aim to extend respective winning streaks >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo will be going for
their fifth straight Major League Soccer win when they travel to take on the
New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The two-time defending
RSL acquires Johnson from Fire for draft picks >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake acquired 21-year-old
forward Will Johnson from the Chicago Fire in exchange for conditional
SuperDraft picks in 2009 and 2011, the team announced on Friday.
"Johnson is an ex
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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