Schelotto leads Crew to 3-1 win over Rapids

Soccer Betting Lines

08/21/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guillermo Barros Schelotto had a goal and an assist Saturday, leading the Columbus Crew to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids at Crew Stadium.

Schelotto converted a penalty kick in the eighth minute for his sixth goal of the year, then set up the Crew's final goal off a free kick in the 80th. Jason Garey and Steven Lenhart scored Columbus' other goals.

Columbus (12-5-4) won for the ninth time in 11 home games, and pushed its lead in the Eastern Conference back to six points. Red Bull New York topped Toronto FC, 4-1, earlier Saturday to temporarily close within three points.

Colorado (7-6-7) got its lone goal from Pablo Mastroeni, as the Rapids slipped to 1-3-7 in their last 10 games.

Columbus got off to a perfect start when Eddie Gaven earned a penalty kick for a foul on Colorado goalie Matt Pickens inside 10 minutes. Schelotto drove the penalty inside the left post to give the Crew a quick lead.

Colorado equalized before half when Mastroeni took a pass from Mehdi Ballouchy and set up a right-footed shot from 14 yards that beat Crew goalie Will Hesmer to the bottom right in stoppage time.

Columbus regained the lead early in the second half when Garey latched onto a poor clearance from Colorado defender Marvell Wynne and hit a first-time shot past Pickens from 18 yards to the right post.

Lenhart capped the scoring 10 minutes from time in pouring rain. Schelotto played a free kick from the right to the far side of the box to Chad Marshall and he headed back across the goal to Lenhart. Lenhart just nodded home from a few yards out for his fifth goal of the season.

Columbus hosts FC Dallas in its next match on Aug. 28, when Colorado hosts the Houston Dynamo.

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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.