Surging Wizards seek more road success at Union

Soccer Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said last week's 2-0 win at the Los Angeles Galaxy was "probably our best 90-minute performance of the whole season," but the surging Wizards still have work to do to qualify for the Major League Soccer playoffs.

Kansas City has four wins and two ties in its last seven matches, earning more than half its 26 points during the run. The Wizards also won at Columbus, 1-0, to open the streak in mid-July, but the expansion Philadelphia Union present a challenge for K.C. on Saturday.

K.C. (7-9-5) visits PPL Park for the second game of a three-game road trip but Philadelphia (5-11-5) has played well recently, earning two draws and a win in its last four MLS matches. The Union also beat Mexico's Guadalajara, 1-0, this week in a friendly.

Kansas City's victories at Los Angeles and Columbus are its only two road wins this season, as six losses and two draws in its other away games have kept the Wizards from moving up the Eastern Conference standings.

Davy Arnaud had a goal and an assist last week in the win over L.A., which has the best record in MLS (Columbus has the second best record), and Galaxy coach Bruce Arena praised K.C. following the game at The Home Depot Center.

"I think that we got outcompeted. All this was about tonight was fighting and scrapping and we lost that fight. I think that was the difference in the game; they played harder," Arena said.

K.C. is fourth in the Eastern Conference, 11 points back of Red Bull New York, who holds the second of two guaranteed playoff berths from the conference. The Wizards are three behind the San Jose Earthquakes for the final playoff spot.

Philadelphia has quietly put together a decent year for an expansion team, and is only nine points behind San Jose with two months remaining in the year. The Union won 2-1 at the New England Revolution last weekend thanks to a stoppage- time goal from Justin Mapp, then followed that with the win over Guadalajara.

Philadelphia has yet to post a shutout in league matches, but the game against the Mexican power proves the Union are capable.

Union rookie Danny Mwanga, who is second on the squad with seven goals, may be carrying a bigger load this weekend with Alejandro Moreno and nine-goal scorer Sebastien Le Toux questionable, but he is confident Philadelphia can win.

"We definitely are looking to win," Mwanga said on the club's website. "We did a pretty good job against New England [and] we're going to look to continue that.

"If we can keep doing what we're doing we think we can get a good result this Saturday against Kansas City."

Gambliung Soccer Betting News

<< Seattle, New England set to meet at Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Sounders FC travel to New England to take on the Revolution, hoping to extend their current unbeaten run in Major League Soccer play to nine games. Seattle (9-8-5) have rebounded nicely from an

<< Nationwide to end tour sponsorship in 2012
Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nationwide Insurance has closed one door and opened another. The company said Friday it will no longer sponsor the PGA Tour's developmental circuit when its contract runs out after the 2012 season. B

<< Penguins sign Mike Comrie
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Mike Comrie to a one-year contract worth $500,000. Comrie spent last season with Edmonton and registered 13 goals with eight assists for 21 points in 43

<< Newton set to debut as No. 22 Auburn's QB
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -Quarterback Cameron Newton has been the talk of Auburn since his arrival on campus. He's big, he's mobile and he's a skilled leader who can direct Gus Malzahn's offense to even bigger numbers.That's the buzz, at least.Really, the

<< No. 7 Sooners seek entry into 800-win club
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -The pictures on the walls and the old videos Bob Stoops shows to his players serve as a reminder that Oklahoma's program has been thriving for decades, since long before any of them were around.On Saturday night, Oklahoma can add

Stosur, Dementieva first into U.S. Open fourth round >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Stosur of Australia and Russia's Elena Dementieva were third-round winners Friday at the U.S. Open. The fifth-seeded Stosur thumped Italy's Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-3, while the 12th- seeded Dement

Maple Leafs' stock slowly rising >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is guarded optimism surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the 2010-11 NHL season, much of that due to the astute moves made this offseason by general manager Brian Burke. Through trade

Morgan gets eight games, Volstad six after Nats/Marlins brawl >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan was suspended for eight games and Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad was given a six-game penalty for their roles in Wednesday's benches-clearing inciden

Jimenez shoots 61 for European Masters lead >>
Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five days after locking down his Ryder Cup spot, Miguel Angel Jimenez came close to locking down a piece of golf history. Jimenez flirted with a 59 Friday during the second round of the European

Report: Broncos' LenDale White out for season >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos running back LenDale White is reportedly out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. The Denver Post cited an NFL source in its report on Friday. White was hurt during the second quarter

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.