Rapids not taking Chivas for granted

Soccer Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids will continue their playoff push on Saturday when they host Western Conference cellar-dwellars, Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Colorado enters the weekend in fifth place in the Western Conference table, but they are seventh overall in Major League Soccer, which would be good enough to help the team qualify for the playoffs.

The Rapids have won only two of their last 11 games, but they are hoping that they can record a second successive win on Saturday after beating the Houston Dynamo, 3-0.

With regular starting goalkeeper Matt Pickens out because of back spasms, Ian Joyce made his first career MLS start and kept a clean sheet, and he felt that it was the mental approach of the team that was a big reason for the good result.

"I think the hard work and the determination shown by the team tonight came through in the end," Joyce told mlssoccer.com. "From start to finish, we really had the right attitude going into this game. We are in a playoff push now and we really approached this game with the right mentality and we came through in the end."

Colorado will hope to carry some of the momentum from the Houston game into Saturday's match, but Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni knows that just because Chivas sits on the bottom of the table, they cannot be taken lightly.

"Any team, regardless of your standing in the table, can beat any team on any given day," Mastroeni told MLSsoccer.com. "What we have come away with from this season is to have utmost respect for every team that we play and find a way to impose ourselves on the opposing team early in the game."

Chivas was able to record its sixth win of the season in league play as they beat Eastern Conference bottom-feeders D.C. United, 1-0, last time out.

However, the Goats suffered a setback in midweek as they fell 3-1 to Seattle Sounders FC in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup.

Chivas striker Justin Braun called the semifinal match the biggest game in club history prior to kickoff, so Braun and the rest of his teammates must now pull themselves back together and try for a second successive win.

The visitors will be without Osael Romero (El Salvador), Bryan de la Fuente and Cesar Zamora (both US Under-20 National Team) because of international duty, while Colorado is waiting to see how the back of Pickens responds while also keeping an eye on a hamstring problem that could keep defender Marvell Wynne out.

Wwwchipshot Soccer Betting News

<< SEC, Nashville agree to multi-year deal to host hoops tournament
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeastern Conference and the Nashville Sports Council agreed to play the SEC men's basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena in 2015, 2016 and 2019. The event will now be held at the arena

<< L.A. wants better effort against Chicago
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan and manager Bruce Arena both agreed after last week's loss to the Kansas City Wizards that the Los Angeles Galaxy were "outcompeted." Davy Arnaud had a goal and an assist to lead K.C. to a 2

<< Eagles trade for OL Wells, cut 10; Abiamiri to PUP
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have traded for Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Reggie Wells, the team announced Friday. The 29-year-old Wells, who was acquired in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft

<< Twins promote P Fox, two others
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have purchased the contract of pitcher Matt Fox from Triple-A Rochester. The right-hander is slated to start Friday's series opener against the Texas Rangers. It will be his major

<< Carpenter tops Power for first IndyCar pole at Kentucky
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ed Carpenter earned his first pole in the IZOD IndyCar Series after edging points leader Will Power in Friday's qualifying for the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Carpenter, making just his thir

Granderson, Yanks win seventh straight >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Granderson doubled twice and drove in three runs, as New York beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Brett Gardner hit an RBI triple and scored

NCAA reverses decision; Masoli to play for Ole Miss in 2010 >>
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will be able to play for the Ole Miss Rebels this season after the NCAA overturned a previous decision that stated the signal-caller must sit out a year. Masoli enro

Diamondbacks bring up veteran P Hampton >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks purchased the contract of 15-season veteran Mike Hampton on Friday from Triple-A Reno. Hampton was signed by the club on August 21 after making 21 starts for Houston last season, going

Columbus signs Peru forward Mendoza >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew signed Peru forward Andres Mendoza on Friday. Mendoza, 32, made his debut for Peru in 1999 and still plays for his country. He has seven goals in 44 games. At the club level, Mendoza has p

DeWitt, Soriano both homer as Cubs top Mets >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake DeWitt's three-run homer in the sixth provided the difference, and the Cubs began a weekend series against the Mets with a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field. DeWitt hit his fourth home run in just 30 game

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.