Chicago tops Columbus to snap five-game skid

Soccer Betting Lines

06/04/2007 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Barrett's amazing 75-yard scoring run helped Chicago defeat Columbus, 3-2, on Sunday and end a five-game winless streak.

Barrett picked up a loose ball about 10 yards outside his own box off a corner and raced all the way down field with a defender on his back before scoring. It was his third goal of the year and the game-winner for the Fire.

Jeff Curtin and Willian Oliveira also scored for Chicago, which had lost four of its last five games. The Fire hadn't won since a 1-0 victory over Houston on April 29, which capped a four-game unbeaten streak to start the year.

Chicago (4-4-1) needed a win to stay close to Kansas City, New England and New York in Major League Soccer's Eastern Division. The Fire are five points back of first-place Kansas City, four behind New England and three behind New York.

Columbus, which entered the game with the fewest goals in the MLS, turned the game into an unexpected offensive battle. The Crew had 18 shots (nine on goal) to the Fire's 12 (four on goal).

But the Crew (1-3-5) were unable to finish as well as the Fire and weren't able to climb out of last place in the Eastern Division. It was just the third loss in nine games this season for Columbus, but it also has just one win. The loss extended the Crew's winless streak to five games.

Columbus looked like the much better side early in the game, nearly getting the first goal a few times.

In the ninth minute, Guillermo Barros Schelotto controlled the ball in the middle of the field and passed to Alejandro Moreno in the box but his shot was saved by Fire goalie Matt Pickens.

Schelotto had his own scoring chance minutes later, but despite getting behind the defense he decided to unleash a hard shot from just outside the 18 and it was right at Pickens.

Moreno had another great chance in the 18th minute on a nice give-and-go, but after his hard shot deflected off a defender Pickens made a great sprawling stop to save a goal.

Despite all of Columbus' chances, Chicago was the first to get on the board when Curtin scored on a great leaping header in the 25th minute. Off a corner kick from Oliveira, Curtin charged in toward the far post and left his feet to head the ball from a tough angle past Crew goalie Andy Gruenebaum.

Columbus was rewarded for its surprising amount of offense late in the first half when Duncan Oughton scored off a header. Schelotto crossed the ball and Oughton soared into the air to head the ball toward the right post. Pickens was able to get his fingertips on the ball but it deflected off the post and into the net.

Moreno's chances continued to come in the second half, and just five minutes in he was able to get behind Chicago's defense again following a great pass from Robbie Rogers. Although Moreno was one-on-one with Pickens, the Fire goalie got off his line and was able to take the ball off Moreno's feet to prevent a shot on goal.

Chicago converted another set piece in the 61st minute when Oliveira sent a free kick off a Columbus defender, through traffic and past Gruenebaum. It initially looked like another Fire player got a touch on the ball just in front of the net, but Oliveira was credited with the unassisted goal.

The Fire's lead looked to be in jeopardy when Curtin was sent off in the 68th minute on a soft red card, but the Crew were unable to take advantage of the man advantage.

Then in the 78th minute, a Columbus player whiffed on a shot off a corner and Barrett controlled the ball a few yards outside his own box. Barrett dribbled the ball down the middle of the field with Columbus' Kei Kamara on his back and a few steps into the box on the opposite end of the field was able to beat Gruenebaum.

Columbus was able to get one goal back in the 84th minute when it converted its first corner kick since October of 2005 - a span of more than 200 chances. The ball was played into the box where it was headed by Moreno, then touched by Oughton before Chad Marshall buried it in the back of the net.

With a little momentum and a man advantage, Columbus had a good shot to get the tying goal in the final minutes before it lost Danny O'Rourke to a red card in the 86th minute.

With each team playing with 10 men, the Crew managed one last chance in extra time when Frankie Hejduk was taken down just outside the box. The free kick was sent into the wall, but Hejduk one-timed the deflection and Pickens dove to his right to make one last save - his seventh - to preserve the victory.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

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