Columbus ready to rebound against Colorado
Soccer Betting Lines
08/20/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Real Salt Lake last weekend in a clash of the last two Major League Soccer Cup winners, but a midweek win over Guatemala's Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League has the Crew back on track for Saturday's MLS match against Colorado.
Columbus (11-5-4) leads the Eastern Conference by seven points over Red Bull New York and trails the Los Angeles Galaxy by just six points for the top mark in the league.
The Crew have finished with the best regular-season record in MLS for the last two years and need to earn points against Colorado at Crew Stadium to maintain pursuit of another Supporters' Shield.
Columbus coach Robert Warzycha was missing a number of first-team regulars at Real last week, but only goalie Will Hesmer and Brian Carroll missed the match against Municipal, a 1-0 win.
Eddie Gaven returned from a concussion and Andy Iro played after sitting out a match with a sore knee. Carroll could also return on Saturday from a stomach virus that cost him the last two matches, which would be a boost with Robbie Rogers sidelined.
Rogers had surgery on his left knee last week and is already off crutches, but he is still expected to miss a few more weeks.
Colorado (7-5-7) earned a 1-1 draw at the Philadelphia Union last weekend, but is just 1-2-6 in its last nine games. The lone win during the stretch was 1-0 over the Chicago Fire, thanks to an own goal.
The Rapids edged the Crew in their previous meeting on June 5 in Colorado 1-0 on a goal from Drew Moor in the 85th minute. That game also featured a scuffle that ended with Pablo Mastroeni being ejected.
Colorado will be without midfielder Colin Clark, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury recently, but striker Conor Casey returned from a two-game absence against the Union in a substitute's role and could start this week.
The Rapids are fifth in the Western Conference and hold the seventh of eight playoff spots. However, with Toronto FC and the San Jose Earthquakes both just one point back, coach Gary Smith's club can't afford to drop points either.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Fernandez has more than enough ability to play a major role on a top-tier NBA team. I'm just not sure he wants to. The disgruntled Trail Blazers swingman has been griping about his playing time for
<< Galaxy, 'Quakes set to renew California rivalry
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose
Earthquakes renew their California rivalry when the two Major League Soccer
clubs meet at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Galaxy (13-3-4) are ri
<< New York aims to break offensive slump at Toronto
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York travels to take on Toronto FC
at BMO Field as the two Major League Soccer clubs meet for the second time in
10 days on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto has been off in league play since the previo
<< MISL adds second expansion team for 2010-11
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major Indoor Soccer League announced this
week an expansion team based on Omaha, Neb. will join the league for the
2010-11 season.
The soon-to-be-named Omaha team joins the Missouri Comets as new te
<< Lagoutte-Clement wins Ladies Scottish Open
East Lothian, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Virgine Lagoutte-Clement posted a
one-under-par 71 on Friday to come from behind and win the Ladies Scottish
Open.
She won the championship by a stroke at one-over 217 at Archerfield Links.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has suspended Buffalo Bills tight end Shawn Nelson four games without pay for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. The second-year pro out of Southern Mississippi
San Francisco 49ers 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers have a new strategy in their
attempt to end a seven-year playoff drought.
The plan?
Try nothing new at all.
San Francisco finished strong under head coach Mike Singletary in 2008 after
he repl
Hibs ready to take on defending champions >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time defending champions Rangers
will visit Easter Road Stadium on Sunday to face Hibernian, with both teams
coming off of successful opening weekend matches.
Rangers held off Kilmarnock, 2-
AL Central: Twins beginning to separate from the pack >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You'll have to forgive the Minnesota Twins if they're not
quite sure how to handle themselves in the role of frontrunner.
Typically around this time of year, the Twins are the ones fighting for their
playoff lives. They ar
Hanson and Widmark share Czech Open lead >>
Celadna, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swedes Peter Hanson and Fredrik
Widmark are tied atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of the Czech
Open.
Hanson shot a two-under 70 in round two, while Widmark fired a five-under 67
NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.