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05/14/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy will try to continue their unbeaten start to the 2010 Major League Soccer Season when they host Toronto FC at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.
While the galaxy have dominated early this season, going 7-0-1 in their first eight league fixtures, coach Bruce Arena cautions to not put to much value on such a short stretch of games.
"What's typical of the media and the press is to overreact to a team being real good or real bad," he told his club's website. "The truth of the matter is the entire league is only eight games in, and there's no clear points to be made yet. Nobody is real good or real bad yet; you kind of conclude that after 30 games, not after eight games.
"Look back to last year and see where everyone was after eight games. I would imagine not everything was said and done. I would think you look at the first eight games of 2009, then look at the end of the year, and you'd be kind of surprised by what you saw."
Toronto (3-4-0) is hoping that Arena's word ring true and that it is not as back as it first seven games indicate. The club does seem to be turning the corner, with two wins in its last three league fixtures, including a 4-1 victory over Chicago last weekend.
Getting a result on the road will be key for the reds, who are 0-4 while being outscored 11-4 away from BMO Field. Scoring four goals last week will should build confidence in the club, especially considering Dwayne De Rosario, who had scored six of his team's first seven goals to start the season, was held off the score sheet.
"I know it's a good relief for them," De Rosario told his club's website about other players pitching in offensively. "Hopefully we can take this confidence and bring it on the road with us."
The reds will be without defenders Emmanuel Gomez and Ty Harden, while defender Dan Gargan is questionable, all with injuries.
The Galaxy's A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Dema Kovalenko, Leonardo and Eddie Lewis are all questionable with injury knocks.
<< Jones, Pirates use late burst of offense to down Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Jones collected five hits and drove in
a career-high five runs, including the tie-breaking three-run homer in the
eighth inning, to lift the Pirates to a 10-6 win over the Cubs in the opener
of a th
<< Embarrassed Wizards hope to catch Fire
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire travel to take on the
Kansas City Wizards in a Major League Soccer clash on Saturday night at
CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The Wizards are trying to bounced back from an embarrass
<< Cahoon to return with Als for 2010
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes announced on Friday
that veteran wideout Ben Cahoon will return for a 13th year.
Cahoon, a Utah native and Brigham Young product, posted a league-best 89
receptions for 1,031
<< Royals make more changes to coaching staff
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals made further
changes to their coaching staff on Friday, one day after installing Ned Yost
as manager in place of Trey Hillman.
Third-base coach Dave Owen was relieved of
Sindelar among four co-leaders in Alabama >>
Hoover, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Sindelar fired a seven-under 65 to share
the first-round lead Friday with three other players at the Regions Charity
Classic.
Russ Cochran, Bobby Clampett and Peter Senior also carded 65s on the
Former NFL lineman Hand dead at 37 >>
Walterboro, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NFL defensive lineman Norman Hand
has reportedly passed away at the age of 37.
The news was reported by CBS news affiliate WCSC-TV in Charleston, South
Carolina. The Colleton County corone
Rangers activate Cruz from DL >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have activated
outfielder Nelson Cruz from the 15-day disabled list.
The 29-year-old had been placed on the DL on April 27 with a strained right
hamstring.
He started two
Nationals/Rockies postponed, rescheduled for Saturday DH >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday night's game between the Washington
Nationals and Colorado Rockies was postponed due to inclement weather.
The game has been rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday. The
first game w
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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