Olsen hat trick leads United past New York

Soccer Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United usually has the upper hand in its Atlantic rivalry with fellow Eastern Conference team, New York, but heading into the first matchup of the 2007 season, the visiting Red Bulls were considered the favorites. But history held true, and despite the fact that New York holds the top spot in the East and has been one of the better teams in Major League Soccer all season, United was able to add to its dominance in the series with a 4-2 win at RFK on Sunday afternoon.

Ben Olsen scored three goals for the third hat trick of the '07 MLS season - the second straight week New York has let a player score three goals against it after Kansas City's Eddie Johnson accomplished the feat last weekend - and Luciano Emilio added another to help D.C. take a 25-15 lead in the all-time series between the teams.

With the win, D.C. moves within six points of the first-placed Red Bulls with two games in hand. It was also the first time this season that D.C. - who is unbeaten in six games since starting the season 0-3 - has scored more than two goals in a game.

The game started out with D.C. dominating the possession, making it no surprise that it would score the game's first goal. Olsen got the tally 15 minutes in when he dove across the box to knock a Joshua Gros cross past New York goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus - who was making his first start since suffering an ankle injury on May 5.

It didn't take the Red Bulls long to answer as Dema Kovalenko scored his second goal of the season just two minutes later. A failed D.C. clearance in the offensive third was trapped by Markus Schopp and he passed over to Kovalenko who fired a shot that deflected off a defender, past United 'keeper Troy Perkins to make the score 1-1.

Less than a minute later, Emilio threatened to give the home side the advantage again, but his blast from about 20-yards out went just wide.

Emilio had another chance just before the break when he took a pass in the box, but his quick turn-around shot was saved by Waterreus and the teams went into halftime knotted at one.

D.C. came out flying in the second half and looked to take the lead in the 48th minute when Christian Gomez took a pass from Fred in the box and chipped over Waterreus and a flailing New York defender, but the ball went just over the crossbar.

Emilio was finally able to give United the lead back less than a minute later when he took another Fred pass in the box and blasted a shot into the net to make it 2-1.

New York was given a boost to its comeback chances with about 30 minute remaining when D.C. defender Bobby Boswell was given his second yellow, putting the visitors up a man the rest of the game, but the man advantage didn't seem to matter as D.C. controlled the ball and got the majority of the chances the rest of the way.

Olsen scored his second goal of the game 18 minutes from time when he took a pass at the edge of the box, cut inside past a defender and fired a shot through Waterreus for the 3-1 lead. He completed the hat trick 12 minutes later when he ripped a volley from about 25-yards out into the top right corner for his fourth goal of the season.

Juan Pablo Angel scored his seventh goal of the season for New York in the 85th minute to make it 4-2, but it was too little too late as the Red Bulls dropped their second in three games.

The Red Bulls will be back in action Saturday when they host Kansas City while United hosts Chicago the same day.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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