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09/14/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Real Salt Lake travels to Toronto FC Saturday for a Major League Soccer clash, it won't exactly be a clash of the titans. RSL is currently second-to-last in the league with just 18 points after 23 games while TFC hasn't scored a goal in nine games - an MLS record 732 minutes.
Both teams still have hope for their seasons, however. RSL won three of five games before dropping one goal decisions to two of the best teams in the league - Houston and D.C. - in their last two fixtures while Toronto is still just nine points out of the final playoff spot, even after falling, 2-0, at Dallas last weekend in a game it very easily could have won.
"I thought the guys played very hard," Toronto coach Mo Johnston said. "They worked hard for each other, created 11 chances. We should have scored. Our guys stuck together and battled hard. The guys are gutted. It's a shame because we should have had something from the game tonight, maybe a point. I don't think Dallas performed very well. We thought behind them numerous times but we just couldn't score."
"That's all it is - effort," RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando goalkeeper said after the loss to D.C. "It doesn't mean anything unless you get three points or a point. Today we showed we've been giving effort all year, but we seem always to lose it at the end or give up a silly goal. Today's the same thing. We give a [good] effort, you know good teams, good games. For some reason we give them away, and that's why we're at the bottom and they're at the top."
While neither team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, chances are slim, meaning finishing the last seven games of the season strong is important for both clubs.
RSL has hope for next season, with a young lineup bolstered by the acquisitions of the Argentinean trio of Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Matias Mantilla to its roster in mid-August.
Toronto, which has been hit hard by injuries this season, at least knows that before the said injuries decimated most of its main attacking players, it was in a position to make a legitimate run at the playoffs, which it can build on in '08.
This will be the second meeting between the two clubs this season, with Toronto getting its first road win in franchise history on July 4 at Rice- Eccles Stadium. Jeff Cunningham scored the game's first goal in the 19th minute when he received a pass from Danny Dichio and broke in on goal alone to make it 1-0. Neither player will be in the Toronto lineup Saturday, however, because of injuries.
RSL got the goal back just before halftime when Alecko Eskandarian converted from the penalty spot after he was sandwiched by Toronto defenders Jim Brennan and Carl Robinson in the box. But Collin Samuel gave TFC their historic victory, converting a penalty of his own in the 79th minute
After Saturday's fixture at BMO Field, Toronto hosts Columbus next Saturday while Real Salt Lake hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.
<< Jaguars Attempt to Stop Run, Falcons
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars had trouble stopping the run and
running the football in last week's loss to the Tennessee Titans. Now it's the
Atlanta Falcons' turn to try and do the same thing to the Jaguars in a Week 2
interconfe
<< Tomlin Makes Home Debut In Steelers-Bills Clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time since 1991, Bill Cowher won't be on the
sidelines for the Pittsburgh Steelers' home opener. Instead, Mike Tomlin will
make his home head coaching debut on Sunday, when his club welcomes the
Buffalo Bills to
<< Can Bengals Keep Good Times Rolling Vs. Browns?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As an early-season candidate to represent the AFC in this
year's Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals started their quest for glory on the
right foot. Now they will have the pleasure of paying a visit to the Cleveland
Browns th
<< Fins Try to Impress Supporters, Beat Cowboys
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cam Cameron and Trent Green will have a prime chance to win
over their home fans on Sunday afternoon, when the new head coach and starting
quarterback of the Miami Dolphins contend with the Dallas Cowboys in the Fins'
home op
Nancy hopes to stay undefeated >>
Lorraine, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nancy will try to continue its
undefeated start on Saturday when it travels to the Stade Felix-Bollaert to
play Lens.
On paper, this match looks to be very lopsided. Nancy sits in first pl
Marlins activate Pinto >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins activated left-hander
Renyel Pinto from the 15-day disabled list Friday.
Pinto, who is 2-4 with a 4.10 ERA and one save in 49 relief appearances this
season, has been on the DL since
Woods fires 63; leads Tour Championship by three >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods used a stellar front nine Friday to
grab the lead after two rounds of the Tour Championship.
Woods completed his opening-round 64 earlier Friday, then came back with a
vengeance in the second
Simpson named suspect in casino robbery >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Las Vegas police questioned former football
star O.J. Simpson and declared him a suspect Friday in a hotel room
armed robbery, involving sports memorabilia at The Palace Station Casino.
The form
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.
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The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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