08/19/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time defending Major League Soccer champion Houston moved into first place in the Western Conference for the first time all season Saturday and coach Dominic Kinnear didn't care if it took an ugly win.
Allowing two goals in the opening 25 minutes of the first half at home? Kinnear can live with that. After all, Houston scored four goals before halftime and held on defeat Real Salt Lake, 4-3.
"We won, we are on top of the conference, and we are happy about that," Kinnear said.
"The results were the most important thing to come out of [the match]."
Houston, which has the fewest losses in MLS with four, will now try to open its lead when it hosts last year's conference champions Chivas USA on Wednesday at Robertson Stadium in the first of two matches for both clubs this week.
Houston leads Real Salt Lake by two points, but the entire conference is within eight points.
The Dynamo obviously weren't pleased with allowing three goals to RSL. Houston had allowed just one goal in its previous five MLS matches and has allowed just 22 goals all season - second in MLS to Chicago's 16.
But like Kinnear, Dynamo goalie Pat Onstad was just glad to escape with the win and first place.
"Give our guys credit. We were down one-nothing, we stuck to it, and we just started creating opportunities with the ball," Onstad said.
Houston, which has won its last three and is unbeaten in six straight, will try to extend its run without striker Brian Ching. He was called up to the United States national team for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala.
Ching had a goal and an assist in last week's win over Real and leads the team with nine goals and is tied for the team lead with four assists.
Chivas also has to deal with a loss to the U.S. team. Midfielder Sacha Kljestan is also with the Americans for the match in Guatemala. Kljestan leads the team with five goals and is tied for the team lead with four assists.
With Jonathan Bornstein, Makel Galindo and Ante Razov among 11 players on the injured list for Chivas, it's a big blow to lose a healthy Kljestan.
Chivas is also still adjusting to new goalie Zach Thornton, who has allowed six goals in three games since replacing Brad Guzan earlier this month. Guzan moved to Aston Villa in the English Premier League.
Chivas is sixth in the West, but still just six points behind Houston. A couple of wins in the next few days could erase the team's recent frustrations.
Chivas hosts the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday and Houston visits Red Bull New York on Sunday.
<< D.C. to test improving defense against New England
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United has been impressive in its last
10 matches in Major League Soccer, and will try to build on its recent success
Wednesday against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.
United is 7-2-1
<< Craft to start at QB for UCLA
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel has decided
to start redshirt junior Kevin Craft at quarterback for the season-opener on
September 1 against Tennessee.
Craft spent two years -- one as a redshirt -- at Sa
<< Bengals take another chance on Henry
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals signed troubled wide
receiver Chris Henry on Tuesday.
The Bengals released Henry on April 3 after his fifth arrest since the club
made him their third-round pick in the 2005 NFL Dr
<< Marlins open trek with three games in San Francisco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins begin a very important stretch of road
games when the struggling National League East contenders head to San
Francisco's AT&T Park tonight for the first of three straight matchups with
the
Fiorentina's Mutu dislocates elbow >>
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu has suffered
a fresh blow after dislocating his elbow while preparing for international
action with Romania.
The 29-year-old discovered last week that he has been order
Arsenal's Rosicky sets record straight >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky has
attempted to nip a potential dispute with teammates in the bud by clarifying
comments he made to the media in his native Czech Republic.
Rosicky, who is cur
Crean officially signs 10-year deal with Indiana >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana University made it official with
new men's basketball coach Tom Crean on Tuesday, signing the former Marquette
mentor to a 10-year contract.
Crean left Marquette in April to join Indiana, and
Red Sox great Yastrzemski hospitalized >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski was
hospitalized Tuesday morning after experiencing discomfort and chest pains.
The Red Sox said the Hall of Famer is undergoing evaluation and testing at
Massach
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting