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09/03/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United interim coach Ben Olsen called Wednesday's loss to the Columbus Crew in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals "cruel," but now the struggling squad will try to bounce back in Major League Soccer on Saturday in a rematch against Columbus.
Columbus used an own goal from Marc Burch in the 89th minute to tie the match, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto added the winning penalty in extra time, as the Crew advanced to the Open Cup final to play Seattle Sounders FC.
United (4-15-3) had its streak of two straight finals appearances snapped, and now the club just has the remaining eight matches of an otherwise abysmal MLS season remaining.
"We'll keep pushing, somehow regroup," Olsen said Wednesday, "then start again on the weekend."
United would establish a record for the worst year in league history should it lose its final eight games, and that's not the only dubious mark the four-time champions are trying to avoid.
D.C. has also been shutout 14 times this season, which is also just one shy of the all-time MLS record. In addition, United needs to score 10 goals to avoid the lowest goal output in a single season.
United designated player Branko Boskovic missed the Open Cup semifinal to join Montenegro for Euro qualifying, and will also missed this weekend's match.
United has just one win in its last 10 MLS matches overall, a 2-0 win over the expansion Philadelphia Union on Aug. 22, and Burch expects a tough match this weekend against the Crew as the team looks for a much-needed spark.
"I think it's going to be a battle," Burch said.
Columbus (12-5-5) returns to RFK Stadium with a chance to overtake Los Angeles for the best overall record in the league. The Crew have finished with the top record the last two seasons, and are just two points behind the Galaxy.
The Crew also won the Supporters Shield, given to the team with the best mark in MLS, in 2004. With a fourth honor, Columbus would tie United for the league record.
Columbus veteran Frankie Hejduk knows the return trip to D.C. will be just as tough as the midweek match, and this time the Crew will be without Adam Moffet through yellow card accumulation.
"Coming to D.C. is never easy for us," Hejduk said. "[The Open Cup] was one of those games when we all came together and battled and some guys stepped up and had some big games."
<< Dallas aiming to extend unbeaten run with TFC coming to town
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas set a record last weekend after
earning a scoreless draw at Columbus, going 10 straight Major League Soccer
road fixtures without a loss.
On Saturday, the Hoops (9-2-10), one of the league'
<< Report: Lions' Suh fined for hit on Delhomme
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong
Suh has reportedly been fined for his hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake
Delhomme.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Suh, the second pick in April's d
<< Gaming: College Pigskin Prognostications
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After months of waiting, the 2010 college
football season is ready to kick off its first barrage of Saturday games, and
with that comes the unveiling of my inaugural Top 12, followed by each club's
power r
<< Clijsters rolls into U.S. Open fourth round
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters was a
third-round winner Friday at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Belgian dropped the first three games of her match against
27th-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, but
Fresno State hosts Cincinnati in season opener >>
When Fresno State visited Cincinnati last season, the Bulldogs outgained the Bearcats, controlled the ball for nearly 44 minutes and still ended up on the losing side of a 28-20 game that still rankles coach Pat Hill.While Fresno State controlled th
Red Bulls hope to end RSL's home streak >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York travels to take on Real Salt
Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night in Major League Soccer action.
Both teams are in second place in their respective conference tables, with RSL
holding
Rangers activate Nippert from DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers made a series of roster
moves on Friday, including activating pitcher Dustin Nippert from the 15-day
disabled list.
Nippert landed on the DL on July 20, one day after he was struck i
Carpenter tops Power for first IndyCar pole at Kentucky >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ed Carpenter earned his first pole in the IZOD
IndyCar Series after edging points leader Will Power in Friday's qualifying
for the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Carpenter, making just his thir
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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