Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
08/21/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ching scored a hat trick and the Houston Dynamo edged the Chicago Fire in a seven-goal thriller Saturday night, 4-3, at Robertson Stadium to snap a 10-game winless skid in Major League Soccer.
Ching scored once in the first half and added two more in the second half, one on a bicycle kick, as the teams combined for six second-half goals.
Houston (6-10-5) won for the first time since May 22 when it beat D.C. United. The Dynamo had six losses and four draws during their winless streak. Lovell Palmer also scored, and Richard Mulrooney played a part in all four goals.
Calen Carr and Wilman Conde scored for Chicago (6-6-6), which also got an own goal from Bobby Bowell. Freddie Ljungberg had both assists for Chicago.
Houston opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Chicago goalie Sean Johnson dropped a corner kick from Mulrooney and Ching fired into an empty net for his fourth goal of the year.
Palmer doubled Houston's lead five minutes into the second half off an assist from Mulrooney. Palmer took the pass and slotted to the bottom right for his second goal of the season.
Chicago responded in the 55th when Ljungberg set up Carr, who scored the game- winner Wednesday night in a 2-1 win over New England, and he slipped the ball past Houston goalie Pat Onstad.
Ching pushed Houston's edge back to two goals just a few minutes later, as he found a loose ball off another Mulrooney corner and used a bicycle kick at the edge of the six-yard box to beat Johnson in the 59th.
Chicago cut the deficit in half in the 70th when Boswell and Chicago's Patrick Nyarko were battling for a ball at the edge of the area and it bounced off the Dynamo defender and rolled inside the right post.
Wilman Conde added his first goal of the season in the 81st off an assist from Ljungberg, as the Fire erased the two-goal deficit.
Ching made sure Houston's winless run wouldn't continue, as he got on the end of another corner from Mulrooney and headed inside the right post from about six yards out for his sixth of the season.
Houston hosts the Colorado Rapids in its next game Aug. 28, when Chicago hopes to rebound at Ljungberg's former team, Seattle Sounders FC.
<< Three-for-three: Kyle Busch sweeps Bristol week
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR to
win all three of its national touring series races on the same week after
taking Saturday's IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch, who won
<< Shea helps Dallas slip past Chivas
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brek Shea's goal in the 71st minute helped FC
Dallas extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park as
the Hoops downed Chivas USA, 1-0.
Shea scored his fifth goal of the season from a
<< Marlins P Nolasco to miss start with knee injury
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco will
miss his scheduled start Sunday due to a torn medial meniscus in his right
knee.
Nolasco, who is 14-8 with a 4.22 ERA this season and has won five of his las
<< Mets sink Pirates in rain-shortened affair
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Wright hit a three-run homer to back
five strong innings by Jon Niese, as the Mets beat the Pirates, 5-1, in a
rain-shortened contest from PNC Park.
Niese (8-5) gave up one run on five hits a
Diop, Kamara help Wizards rout Revs >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birahim Diop scored two goals and assisted
on another as the Kansas City Wizards cruised to a 4-1 win over the New
England Revolution at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday.
Diop scored twice in
Lowrie homer leads Red Sox past Jays in 11 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jed Lowrie led off the bottom of the 11th inning
with the game-winning homer, as Boston outlasted Toronto, 5-4, in the middle
test of a three-game set from Fenway Park.
Lowrie crushed a Casey Janssen (4-2) off
Enright and Upton carry DBacks past Rockies >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Enright pitched into the seventh inning
and Justin Upton finally got the best of Ubaldo Jimenez by hitting the go-
ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, as Arizona topped Colorado, 3-1, at
Chase F
Daniel leads Saints over Texans >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Daniel completed 15-of-21 passes for
182 yards and three touchdowns, leading the New Orleans Saints to a 38-20
preseason victory over the Houston Texans.
Daniel also threw an interception in r
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting