Braun's early goal helps Chivas edge D.C. United

Soccer Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Braun scored his eighth goal of the year in the 13th minute and Chivas USA edged D.C. United, 1-0, on Sunday night in Major League Soccer at The Home Depot Center.

Zach Thornton made four saves for his fourth shutout of the season, as Chivas (6-11-4) snapped a three-game winless skid.

D.C. (4-15-3) lost for the sixth time in its last seven matches, and failed to score for the 14th time this season in 22 league matches.

United veteran Jaime Moreno had the first chance of the match after he took a pass from Santino Quaranta, cut around a defender in the area and then forced a save from Thornton.

Chivas turned its first chance into the opener, as Ante Jazic delivered a pass from the left wing to Braun at the top of the area. Braun, who ran in from the right wing, held off United defender Barry Rice and flicked a header over D.C. goalie Troy Perkins and just under the crossbar from 16 yards.

D.C. designated player Branko Boskovic nearly scored his first goal as United searched for the equalizer, but his shot swerved just a few feet away from the upper-left corner in the 22nd minute.

Braun set up the next scoring chance for Chivas USA in the 27th, but Giancarlo Maldonado turned a header wide left from 10 yards.

Chivas had another chance to double its lead a few minutes later when Rice was unable to control the ball just outside the area. Braun took advantage of the mistake to gain possession, but hurried a 22-yard shot and missed high.

United came within inches twice - on the same play - of tying the match before halftime. Quaranta hit a dipping 25-yard blast off the bar that then deflected off the lower leg of Thornton and inches wide of the right post.

Dejan Jakovic forced Thornton to make a save just before half off a header but Chivas survived the late chances to take the one-goal lead into the break.

After a slow start to the second half, D.C. substitute Andy Najar had a solid chance after a long run down the left, but Thornton made an easy save.

United came close to tying the match near the 70-minute mark when Moreno had a header cleared off the line by Chivas defender Mariano Trujillo.

Braun could have put the match away for Chivas USA in the 74th, but after Alan Gordon put him into space, Braun fired high from outside the area.

Chivas USA held on over the last 15 minutes of normal time and four minutes of stoppage time, as it moved within one point of climbing out of last in the Western Conference.

United has the worst record in MLS and trails the expansion Philadelphia Union by five points at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

D.C. plays Columbus in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Wednesday, then battles the Crew in league play Saturday. Chivas plays Seattle Sounders FC in the Open Cup on Wednesday, then plays the Colorado Rapids in MLS on Saturday.

Lotteru Soccer Betting News

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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