U.S. Open Cup preview as Revs, Hoops square off

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas travels to New England Saturday for a Major League Soccer fixture between two teams that are virtual locks for the upcoming MLS Cup playoffs.

The Revs are currently second in the East, seven points back of leaders D.C. with a game in hand while the Hoops are third in the West, within striking distance of the top two teams - CD Chivas USA and the Houston Dynamo.

In the second and final league match between the two clubs, they will be battling for playoff position as well as sending a message for an upcoming game for the U.S. Open Cup championship, which will be played between the Revs and Hoops at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas - the home of FC Dallas - on Oct. 3.

The first meeting saw the Revs pull out a 1-0 win in Frisco behind a Taylor Twellman tally in the first month of the season. Both teams have evolved since that early season contest, meaning it should have no relevance to Saturday's fixture.

The Revolution are coming off a 4-2 loss to D.C. United, the current league leaders. Coach Steve Nicol was ejected from that game and will be suspended for Saturday's contest after arguing a non-call that led to D.C.'s go-ahead goal Sunday.

"I'm not talking about a hairline decision one way or the other," Nicol said. "I'm talking about a free kick that everybody within 20 yards could see what it was. Not one of them saw it? That's what they'll probably tell you. And if they did see it - are you kidding me?"

FC Dallas is coming off a 2-0 win over Toronto FC, but head coach Steve Morrow wasn't happy that it took two penalty kick goals to best the expansion franchise.

"I didn't think it was our best night," Morrow said. "We're happy to get the win and I think we deserved to get three points. It's often the sign of a good team when you don't play your best, win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet."

The Hoops will have to step up their game considerably to be successful at Gillette Stadium against the second highest scoring team in the league. TFC, currently on a league-record 732 minute scoreless streak and the lowest scoring team in the league, had numerous quality chances on a shaky Dallas defense last week.

"We certainly gave up a few more opportunities than I would have liked and at times, it was a bit uncomfortable," Morrow said of the Toronto fixture. "They got the ball into the box a lot. I thought we needed to get a little more pressure on that first ball and stop the delivery in the first place. We could have done a better job in those situations of marking in the box. I thought we dealt well with their direct style for the most part."

The Revs have a number of attacking options with Twellman and his team-leading 12 goals leading the way. Andy Dorman, Pat Noonan, Adam Cristman, Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston are just a handful of players who can find the back of the net on the New England roster.

New England will also have to be wary of the Dallas attack that features Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz and Denilson among others. Denilson, the league's latest designated player signing, scored his first MLS goal last week against Toronto and is slowly finding his groove with his new team.

"He nearly got on the end of a few things," Morrow said. "We just have to get used to the way Denilson plays. When he gets on the ball, we have to make runs. I think it will take a few games to adjust to that."

After Saturday's fixture, New England will travel to Eastern rival Red Bull New York for a Sept. 22 fixture while the Hoops host playoff bubble team, Chicago, on Thursday.

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."

Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."

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

About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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