Houston hopes to start win streak at Colorado

Soccer Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston manager Dominic Kinnear summed up the Dynamo's 4-3 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night perfectly when he said, "Thank goodness for Brian Ching."

Ching scored a hat trick, including a spectacular bicycle kick, as the Dynamo snapped a 10-match winless run in Major League Soccer. Ching doubled his goals total for the season, and put Houston in position to make a playoff run.

Although Kinnear's team has struggled this season without midfielders Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden, who are both now playing in Europe, Houston sits just five points behind the Colorado Rapids for the final playoff berth.

Houston (6-10-5) visits Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night to battle Colorado (7-6-7), which has just one win in its last 10 matches.

Ching has been the missing ingredient this season, as the absence of Clark and Holden - two U.S. internationals - has proven to be two huge voids to fill.

Kinnear added Saturday night that Ching always "leads by example," and for the U.S. striker able to score "with teams keying on him shows what a presence he is in the box for us."

Houston still has other teams to overtake in the standings, but Ching could be the difference-maker over the Dynamo's final nine matches. Houston lost six of its games during the winless skid, but a win over Colorado could give the team the confidence it needs to be a factor down the stretch.

Colorado has been struggling just as much as Houston, and considering its lone win during its current 10-game MLS slide was thanks to an own goal from goalie Jon Busch in a 1-0 win over San Jose, the Rapids are also in need of a spark.

The Rapids were on the verge of a season-changing result last week at Columbus after Pablo Mastroeni scored in the 45th minute to cancel an early goal, but the Crew responded with two second-half goals in a 3-1 win.

Coach Gary Smith can at least feel good that Colorado has earned nine points during its skid and still sits in a playoff spot. But with Houston among three teams within five points, the race is getting tighter each week.

"The feeling in the changing room was the guys felt they could go on and win the game," Smith said after the loss to the Eastern Conference leaders.

"Disappointing that we start the second half just appalling. We've not scored lots of goals in games all year. And that second goal was just gift-wrapped," Smith added. "Even then, I felt we might just get ourselves back in the game."

Sportsboook Soccer Betting News

<< Lyon could unveil new signing Gourcuff
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon manager Claude Puel has yet to determine whether or not he will hand a start to the club's new signing, midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, on Saturday at Lorient. Gourcuff joined Lyon this past

<< Pujols eyes unprecedented record, but is it meaningful?
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The greatness of Albert Pujols has been well documented within the world of baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger has been turning heads since his rookie season in 2001, compiling three Most Valuable Playe

<< Petrova reaches Pilot Pen final
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nadia Petrova prevailed in an all-Russian semifinal Friday to reach the championship match at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up. The eighth-seeded Petrova snuck past

<< Brewers P Gallardo robbed at gunpoint
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo and a clubhouse attendant were robbed at gunpoint early Friday morning. According to a story on the team's website, a Brewers spokesperson said Gallardo w

<< OF Hawpe agrees to minor league deal with the Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Brad Hawpe.Hawpe was released earlier this month by Colorado. He'll report to Class-A Charlotte of the Florida State League.Hawpe was o

Knicks agree to terms with Patrick Ewing Jr. >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks on Friday agreed to terms with forward Patrick Ewing Jr. Details of the contract were not released, per club policy. The 26-year-old Ewing was originally drafted by Sacramento in the

Boyd leads 3-way tie for lead in Scotland >>
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five days after losing a playoff, England's Gary Boyd shot a four-under 68 to earn a share of the second-round lead Friday at the Johnnie Walker Championship. France's Julien Guerrier fired a 67

Rays sign OF Hawpe to minor league deal >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays agreed to terms with outfielder Brad Hawpe on a minor league contract Friday and assigned him to Single-A Charlotte. The 31-year-old was given his release by the Colorado Rock

Boyd among three leaders in Scotland >>
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five days after losing a playoff, England's Gary Boyd shot a four-under 68 to earn a share of the second-round lead Friday at the Johnnie Walker Championship. France's Julien Guerrier fired a 67

Dons aim to continue perfect start >>
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aberdeen enters the weekend on top of the Scottish Premier League table with two wins from its first two games, and the Dons will look to make it three wins from three matches on Saturday when they ho

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.