09/05/2008 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew host the New England Revolution in a top-of-the-table Major League Soccer clash at Crew Stadium on Saturday. The Crew have taken over the top spot in the Eastern Conference after winning four of their last five while New England has slipped in recent weeks, with just one win in five.
The Crew's latest victory - the team's third straight - was 2-1 at FC Dallas last Saturday.
"I thought we showed a lot of character in the first half going down 1-0 and basically responding right away with two goals right away," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said of his team's comeback against the Hoops. "But that's been the character of our team all season. The second half wasn't the most artistic. It was one of those where we had to hang on. It didn't seem like we got any breaks on the calls but our guys held tough. Sometimes when you're not playing your best, you've got to find different ways to win. Overall, I'm just proud of our team and our character."
The Revolution, coming off an embarrassing mid-week loss to Joe Public FC that knocked the MLS club out of the CONCACAF Champions League, are a coming off a 2-2 draw with the Los Angles Galaxy last Saturday in their last league fixture.
"Clearly you can see the difference in one team that had traveled 6,000 miles in the last week and one that's been resting," Revs coach Steve Nicol said of his travel weary club. "You see the sharpness in their play that we didn't have. And frankly, we're never going to be able to do that with what we've been doing. We should be happy, but at the same time, I know if there was a trophy for [guts], our team would win hands down. The way the guys came back, we're one team hanging on at the end, which is incredible for what we've been doing. We're proud of our team, so we're going keep going."
Both teams will be a little shorthanded on Saturday because injuries concerns coupled with the fact that it's an official FIFA international date, watering down the rosters further.
The Crew will be without defender Frankie Hejduk, forward Alejandro Moreno defender Duncan Oughton and forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis because of international duty, while defender Ezra Hendrickson midfielder Cory Elenio are out with injuries. A positive note for the Crew is attacker Emmanuel Ekpo returns after participating in Olympic celebrations in his native Nigeria.
The Revolution will just be without defender Gabriel Badilla because of international duty, but the injury concerns are much greater. The team will be without forwards Kheli Dube and Adam Cristman with Taylor Twellman listed as doubtful, while defender Gary Flood, forward Kenny Mansally and midfielder Steve Ralston are question
<< Grubb to serve as Stewart's crew chief in 2009
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stewart-Haas Racing named Darian Grubb on
Friday as the crew chief for driver Tony Stewart when Stewart moves over to
the No.14 Chevrolet team in 2009. Team officials made the announcement at
the Ri
<< Bayern's Ribery returns to full training
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery returned
to full training Friday and is expected to make his first appearance of the
season later this month.
The 25-year-old France international has been sidelin
<< Stuttgart's Basturk injures thigh
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart midfielder Yildiray Basturk
could miss the UEFA Cup clash against Bulgarian side Cherno More after
suffering a thigh injury in training.
The Bundesliga side are unsure how long
<< USA extends lead in women's rankings
Nyon, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The USA used its unlikely win in the 2008
Summer Olympics to extend its lead over Germany atop the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola
Women's World Rankings.
The Germans, who won the 2007 Women's World Cup, fell an a
'Quakes aim to continue surge vs. shorthanded United >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The expansion San Jose Earthquakes continue
their quest for a playoff spot in their return season to Major League Soccer
when they host D.C. United at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday night.
The 'Quakes
White Sox OF Quentin out two-to-three weeks, possibly longer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin
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The surgery will take place at Rush Unive
Van Nistelrooy: Madrid will be fine without Robinho >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ruud van Nistelrooy has rubbished claims that
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The Spanish champions have allowed Julio Baptista and Robinho to leave the
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Black, Huber reach U.S. Open doubles final >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded tandem of Cara Black
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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
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