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07/17/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emilio Renteria and Brian Carroll scored and the Columbus Crew bounced back from a mid-week loss to beat Red Bull New York, 2-0, on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Renteria scored in the 20th minute and Carroll scored in the 48th, as the Crew snapped the Red Bulls' five-match unbeaten streak and opened a five-point lead in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.
Columbus (9-3-4) was upset by the Kansas City Wizards, 1-0, at home Wednesday, but returned to form in a game featuring the top two teams in the East for its seventh win in nine MLS home matches.
New York (8-6-2) was without recent addition Thierry Henry, who attended the match but was not on the roster. Henry is expected to debut on Thursday in an exhibition against English club Tottenham.
Columbus dominated nearly the entire match and the Crew turned a turnover from New York's Juan Pablo Angel into the opener in the 20th minute.
Adam Moffat took the ball from Angel near midfield, then passed to Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Schelotto turned and, from the edge of the midfield circle, slid a through ball between two New York defenders to Renteria.
Renteria took the ball just inside the area and then fired off the fingertips of Red Bulls goalie Bouna Coundoul for his third goal of the season.
New York responded with its first shot four minutes later, but Columbus goalie William Hesmer turned Dane Richards' hard shot from 12 yards around the right post.
Renteria nearly put the Crew in front by two goals, as another turnover helped him get in alone on Coundoul again. Renteria finished well to the bottom left, but the 28th-minute effort was called back for offsides.
New York finished the half with shots on goal from Seth Stammler and Tim Ream, but Hesmer easily saved both. Emmanuel Ekpo ended the half with another one- on-one chance against Coundoul for Columbus, but the New York goalie made his third save of the opening 45 minutes.
New York coach Hans Backe made two changes at halftime, but Columbus was still in control of the match early after the break and doubled its lead within five minutes.
Carroll ran onto a busted free kick just outside the area and struck a curving ball through traffic, off the fingertips of Coundoul and inside the right post in the 48th minute for his first goal of the season.
Renteria put an open header from seven yards well over the bar in the 66th off a cross from Shaun Francis, as Columbus wasted a chance to seal its ninth win.
Ekpo nearly created the third goal in the 75th when he challenged for a cross, but after a collision with Coundoul, the ball rolled wide of the right post.
Columbus' near perfect performance ended with captain Frankie Hejduk being red carded in the 89th minute. He kicked New York's Carl Robinson to get the card, and will miss the Crew's next match against the Houston Dynamo on July 24.
Hesmer made one last save with Columbus down to 10 men and finished with five for his seventh shutout of the year.
New York returns to MLS play July 31 at the Houston Dynamo, when Henry should make his league debut.
<< Brignac belts two homers as Rays top Yankees
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reid Brignac notched his first career multi-homer
game, blasting two and driving in a career-high five in the Rays' 10-5 win
over the Yankees in the second of three games.
Brignac had just three career hom
<< Wainwright strong as Cards blank Dodgers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skip Schumaker's run-scoring double in the
fourth inning backed Adam Wainwright's solid performance on the mound, as the
St. Louis Cardinals snuck past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0, in a pitchers'
duel at
<< Tournament host McCarron leads Reno-Tahoe Open
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tournament host Scott McCarron posted a five-under
67 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Reno-
Tahoe Open.
McCarron finished 54 holes at 10-under 206 and is one stroke ahead at M
<< Reds shuffle roster to make room for Volquez
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds officially activated
right-hander Edinson Volquez to make his season debut against the Rockies
Saturday.
Volquez, who had been out because of both Tommy John surgery and a 50
Johnson, Paulino lift Marlins in shutout of Nats >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronny Paulino hit a two-run single in the bottom
of the second inning, and the Florida Marlins posted a 2-0 victory over
Washington in the second test of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.
Florida
Pavano tosses another complete game in Twins' win over ChiSox >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pavano threw his fourth complete
game of the season, outpitching Mark Buehrle to lead the Minnesota Twins to a
3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Target Field.
Pavano (11-6), who had ne
Bautista's homer pushes Blue Jays over Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer in the
top of the eighth inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore
Orioles, 3-2, in the second test of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Fred Lewis h
Hart and Fielder lead Brewers over Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Hart's three-run double punctuated a
five-run seventh inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers doubled up the Atlanta
Braves, 6-3, in the third test of a four-game series at Turner Field.
Prince Field
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.
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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