Houston hopes to start win streak at Colorado
Soccer Betting Lines
08/27/2010 -
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston manager Dominic Kinnear summed up
the Dynamo's 4-3 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night perfectly when he
said, "Thank goodness for Brian Ching."
Ching scored a hat trick, including a spectacular bicycle kick, as the Dynamo
snapped a 10-match winless run in Major League Soccer. Ching doubled his goals
total for the season, and put Houston in position to make a playoff run.
Although Kinnear's team has struggled this season without midfielders Ricardo
Clark and Stuart Holden, who are both now playing in Europe, Houston sits just
five points behind the Colorado Rapids for the final playoff berth.
Houston (6-10-5) visits Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night to battle
Colorado (7-6-7), which has just one win in its last 10 matches.
Ching has been the missing ingredient this season, as the absence of Clark and
Holden - two U.S. internationals - has proven to be two huge voids to fill.
Kinnear added Saturday night that Ching always "leads by example," and for the
U.S. striker able to score "with teams keying on him shows what a presence he
is in the box for us."
Houston still has other teams to overtake in the standings, but Ching could be
the difference-maker over the Dynamo's final nine matches. Houston lost six of
its games during the winless skid, but a win over Colorado could give the team
the confidence it needs to be a factor down the stretch.
Colorado has been struggling just as much as Houston, and considering its lone
win during its current 10-game MLS slide was thanks to an own goal from goalie
Jon Busch in a 1-0 win over San Jose, the Rapids are also in need of a spark.
The Rapids were on the verge of a season-changing result last week at Columbus
after Pablo Mastroeni scored in the 45th minute to cancel an early goal, but
the Crew responded with two second-half goals in a 3-1 win.
Coach Gary Smith can at least feel good that Colorado has earned nine points
during its skid and still sits in a playoff spot. But with Houston among three
teams within five points, the race is getting tighter each week.
"The feeling in the changing room was the guys felt they could go on and win
the game," Smith said after the loss to the Eastern Conference leaders.
"Disappointing that we start the second half just appalling. We've not scored
lots of goals in games all year. And that second goal was just gift-wrapped,"
Smith added. "Even then, I felt we might just get ourselves back in the game."
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Super Bowl XLIV Odds
Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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