Chicago catches Fire late to tie 10-man Columbus

Soccer Betting Lines

04/25/2009 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McBride and Gonzalo Segares scored in the final five minutes as the Chicago Fire rallied for a 2-2 tie against the 10-man Columbus Crew on Saturday at Crew Stadium.

Chicago (2-0-4) improved its season-opening unbeaten streak to six matches - a first in franchise history - and moved back atop the Eastern Conference.

The Fire, who trailed by two goals at halftime, rallied after Columbus defender Gino Padula was ejected. McBride scored his league-high fifth goal in the 86th, and Segares added the match-tying goal in the 88th.

Columbus (0-2-4), which won the MLS Cup under ex-coach Sigi Schmid last season, remained winless in its first six matches under new coach Robert Warzycha. Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno scored for the Crew.

Reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who was off to a weird start with three goals and no assists in five matches, just missed his fourth goal of the season in the opening 10 minutes. He struck a nice turning volley, but Chicago goalie Jon Busch tipped the ball over the crossbar.

Schelotto continued to create, and nearly forced Chicago defender Logan Pause into an own goal minutes later. Schelotto tried to send a ball into the box and Pause headed to clear, but the ball sailed by Busch and off the left post.

Columbus broke through in the 25th minute when Schelotto picked out Marshall on a free kick. Schelotto bent the pass into the far side of the penalty area, and Marshall headed back inside the right post past a diving Busch.

Moreno had a great individual effort in the 34th minute to push the Crew's edge to two goals. With Busch waiting to a pick up a slow rolling ball on the side of the area, Moreno sneaked in and tapped the ball off his fingertips. Moreno then did well to get to the ball near the end line, tap it by a sprawling Busch again, dribble around a defender and score into the right side.

Marshall and Moreno combined for 16 goals last year - including the postseason - but were scoreless in their first eight combined appearances this season.

Chicago did not do much for the first 55 minutes but was handed a lifeline in the 57th when Padula got a red card after a foul on Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Although the foul didn't seem to be that bad, the card was immediately shown, and Blanco stayed down on the ground in pain.

Chicago's chances were still limited, though, with John Thorrington's blast in the 67th - which was cleared by the Crew's Eric Brunner - one of the few decent shots until the final minutes..

The Fire, who scored 10 goals through their first five matches and led the MLS in scoring, finally cut the deficit in half in the 86th minute when McBride got under a cross from Patrick Nyarko to head the ball into the right side from the edge of the six-yard box.

Segares, who picked up the second assist on McBride's goal, notched the tying goal two minutes later after a quick passing combo from Chris Rolfe and Tim Ward. Rolfe and Ward made two quick passes on the edge of the area, with Ward dropping the ball off to Segares outside the top of the box.

Segares hit the ball first-time and it swerved past Andy Gruenebaum, who played in place of injured starter Wil Hesmer, and into the left side.

Columbus will try to end its season-long winless skid on May 2 when it visits Toronto FC. Chicago will try to extend its undefeated run when it hosts Seattle Sounders FC on May 2.

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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.

Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.

MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.