Cooper's late equalizer forces 'Quakes to settle for draw at FCD
Soccer Betting Lines
10/02/2008 -
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A penalty kick converted by FC Dallas forward
Kenny Cooper in the 89th minute forced the visiting San Jose Earthquakes to
settle for a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Pizza Hut Park on
Thursday night.
While a draw on the road would normally be a positive result, the Earthquakes
aren't happy because it could have been three points if not for the
questionable penalty.
Bruno Guarda fired a ball into the San Jose penalty area and it deflected off
midfielder Francisco Lima's hand, prompting the call from referee Abiodun
Okulaja. The 'Quakes argued that it was an unintentional play but Okulaja
stuck with his original call, as is usually the case.
Cooper responded by knocking in his 16th goal of the season on the PK chance,
easily beating goalkeeper Joe Cannon to the left side. The goal made Cooper
three-for-three on PK tries this season.
The equalizer came after second-half substitute Ryan Johnson gave the visitors
a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute, one minute after entering the game.
Johnson ran onto a long ball from the back from Jason Hernandez, got behind
the defense and played a perfect shot through the legs of Dallas goalkeeper
Dario Sala to make it 1-0. It was Johnson's fifth goal of the season.
With the draw the 'Quakes (7-10-9) remain five points out of the last
automatic playoff berth in the Western table while FC Dallas (8-9-10) is in a
three way tie with Real Salt Lake and Colorado for that last spot with an
extra game played.
San Jose is off until next week, when it plays two games. The first is on Oct.
11 vs. Chivas USA while the second is a make-up game four days later at
Western Conference leading Houston. Dallas plays its next league fixture on
Oct. 11 vs. Eastern Conference bottom-feeder Toronto FC.
<< No Bull! Pittsburgh downs No. 10 South Florida
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeSean McCoy ran for 142 yards and a pair of
touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 4:43 remaining in the fourth
quarter, boosting Pittsburgh to a 26-21 upset of 10th-ranked South Florida.
McCoy,
<< Knicks' Jeffries fractures fibula
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks forward Jared Jeffries will
miss up to two months after fracturing his left fibula during Thursday's
practice.
Jeffries suffered the injury after landing awkwardly and breaking the
<< Phillies slam Sabathia, take 2-0 lead in NLDS
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino hit a grand slam off
CC Sabathia, and Brett Myers tossed seven strong innings as Philadelphia
downed Milwaukee, 5-2, in Game 2 of the teams' National League Division
Series.
<< Shin leads Samsung World Championship
Half Moon Bay, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Women's British Open champion
Ji-Yai Shin fired a five-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of
the Samsung World Championship.
Paula Creamer is alone in second place at minus-
<< Rays sting ChiSox in postseason debut
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria finished 3-for-3 with two
home runs and three RBI as Tampa Bay made its postseason debut a winning one,
with a 6-4 triumph over Chicago in Game 1 of the American League Division
Series
Utes get FG on final play to beat Oregon State >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louie Sakoda drilled home a 38-yard
field goal as time expired, giving 15th-ranked Utah a 31-28 victory over
Oregon State in non-conference action.
New Thursday, different result for the Beav
Martin, Dodgers bury Cubs to take commanding series lead >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Martin's three-run double highlighted a
five-run second inning when the Cubs committed a pair of errors, and Manny
Ramirez homered for a second straight night, carrying the Los Angeles Dodgers
to a 10
Bears WR Lloyd out >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon
Lloyd is not expected to play in Sunday's contest against the Detroit Lions
due to a knee injury he suffered against the Eagles last week.
The 27-year-old wid
Bayern president Beckenbauer wants victories >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer
has admitted that under-fire coach Jurgen Klinsmann needs his team to start
winning matches.
Bayern face Bochum at the weekend on the back of two succes
Hoops hoping to recover from Champions League stumble >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic's Champions League campaign has
not gotten off to a great start as the club has earned just one point from its
first two games, and they return to league play on Saturday to host Hamilton.
The
2007 Academy Award Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center Nick Mangold (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers Reggie Williams and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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