Chicago catches Fire late to tie 10-man Columbus

Soccer Betting Lines

04/25/2009 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McBride and Gonzalo Segares scored in the final five minutes as the Chicago Fire rallied for a 2-2 tie against the 10-man Columbus Crew on Saturday at Crew Stadium.

Chicago (2-0-4) improved its season-opening unbeaten streak to six matches - a first in franchise history - and moved back atop the Eastern Conference.

The Fire, who trailed by two goals at halftime, rallied after Columbus defender Gino Padula was ejected. McBride scored his league-high fifth goal in the 86th, and Segares added the match-tying goal in the 88th.

Columbus (0-2-4), which won the MLS Cup under ex-coach Sigi Schmid last season, remained winless in its first six matches under new coach Robert Warzycha. Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno scored for the Crew.

Reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who was off to a weird start with three goals and no assists in five matches, just missed his fourth goal of the season in the opening 10 minutes. He struck a nice turning volley, but Chicago goalie Jon Busch tipped the ball over the crossbar.

Schelotto continued to create, and nearly forced Chicago defender Logan Pause into an own goal minutes later. Schelotto tried to send a ball into the box and Pause headed to clear, but the ball sailed by Busch and off the left post.

Columbus broke through in the 25th minute when Schelotto picked out Marshall on a free kick. Schelotto bent the pass into the far side of the penalty area, and Marshall headed back inside the right post past a diving Busch.

Moreno had a great individual effort in the 34th minute to push the Crew's edge to two goals. With Busch waiting to a pick up a slow rolling ball on the side of the area, Moreno sneaked in and tapped the ball off his fingertips. Moreno then did well to get to the ball near the end line, tap it by a sprawling Busch again, dribble around a defender and score into the right side.

Marshall and Moreno combined for 16 goals last year - including the postseason - but were scoreless in their first eight combined appearances this season.

Chicago did not do much for the first 55 minutes but was handed a lifeline in the 57th when Padula got a red card after a foul on Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Although the foul didn't seem to be that bad, the card was immediately shown, and Blanco stayed down on the ground in pain.

Chicago's chances were still limited, though, with John Thorrington's blast in the 67th - which was cleared by the Crew's Eric Brunner - one of the few decent shots until the final minutes..

The Fire, who scored 10 goals through their first five matches and led the MLS in scoring, finally cut the deficit in half in the 86th minute when McBride got under a cross from Patrick Nyarko to head the ball into the right side from the edge of the six-yard box.

Segares, who picked up the second assist on McBride's goal, notched the tying goal two minutes later after a quick passing combo from Chris Rolfe and Tim Ward. Rolfe and Ward made two quick passes on the edge of the area, with Ward dropping the ball off to Segares outside the top of the box.

Segares hit the ball first-time and it swerved past Andy Gruenebaum, who played in place of injured starter Wil Hesmer, and into the left side.

Columbus will try to end its season-long winless skid on May 2 when it visits Toronto FC. Chicago will try to extend its undefeated run when it hosts Seattle Sounders FC on May 2.

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.