Chivas wants to spark revival against Wizards

Soccer Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA is winless in seven straight MLS games, but first-year coach Martin Vasquez believes Tuesday's victory over the Houston Dynamo in U.S. Open Cup play could ignite the struggling team.

Vasquez has guided Chivas USA to just three wins through 14 league matches but the California club earned its first-ever win at Houston in the Open Cup, 3-1.

Chivas (3-9-2) has won just one game on the road this year in MLS and is 1-5-1 away from The Home Depot Center but visits the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday with more confidence.

"This win is going to help us to grow and to turn this around in MLS," Vasquez said after the quarterfinal win over Houston.

Chivas USA plays Seattle Sounders FC in the Open Cup semifinals, but that game is more than three weeks away. Chivas has three MLS games in the meantime, and the most important is this week at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City.

"If we can continue in this tournament and spark a revival in the league, then I'm all for it," said Michael Lahoud, who scored against Houston.

Chivas did earn a result in its last MLS match against the Philadelphia Union, a 1-1 draw. Although it wasn't a good enough effort to end its winless streak, it did snap a six-game losing streak.

Justin Braun scored the other two goals for Chivas against Houston, and on the heels of the huge win at Robertson Stadium, the struggling side hopes to start a surge off the bottom of the Western Conference table with a win at K.C.

Chivas is 25 points behind the Los Angeles Galaxy, and at least 10 points back of the top four clubs in the Western Conference.

Kansas City (3-7-3) hasn't played much better than Chivas USA. Despite sitting in fifth in the Eastern Conference, K.C. is just one point off the bottom. The Columbus Crew are 16 points away in first.

The Wizards lost their last match, 1-0, to FC Dallas to remain winless on the road. David Ferriera scored on a penalty kick for Dallas. Overall, Kansas City has just one win in its last 11 dating back to the second of two straight wins to open the season on April 10.

K.C. coach Peter Vermes made a tactical adjustment against Dallas that did not work but he switched back to the team's familiar 4-3-3 formation in the second half and the team played well enough to take some confidence from the loss.

"Our adjustment back to the 4-3-3 put a lot of pressure on them," Vermes said, "and we started to put them on their heels."

Roultette Soccer Betting News

<< Russia, Argentina tied at 1-1 in Davis Cup QF
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's opening singles winners in the best-of-five Davis Cup quarterfinal between visiting Argentina and host Russia were David Nalbandian and Mikhail Youzhny, respectively. The oft-injured former W

<< 'Quakes, Union in search of full points at PPL Park
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union host the San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer action at PPL Park on Sunday evening. Both teams are coming off of disappointing draws in their last league fixtures,

<< Line of Scrimmage: NFL GameChangers '10: O-Line and TEs
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The news that you are being forced to move to Detroit is, in most cases, best broken gently. No disrespect to the Motor City, which is on the way back under mayor Dave Bing and has produced some of the greate

<< Wizards' top pick Wall sits out with injury
WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington Wizards top draft choice John Wall has missed practice after injuring his groin a day earlier during his first workout with the team.Coach Flip Saunders says the overall No. 1 pick in last month's NBA draft has tightness

<< Rangers re-sign D Girardi
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have re-signed defenseman Daniel Girardi to an undisclosed contract. The 26-year-old registered six goals and 18 points with a minus-two rating over a full 82-game schedule in 2009-1

Dulgheru, Szavay into Budapest semis >>
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Alexandra Dulgheru was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner, while reigning champion Agnes Szavay of Hungary was an easy victor Friday at the $220,000 Budapest Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Dul

Revs hope to make statement vs. Galaxy >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution have won just one of their last 11 Major League Soccer fixtures. The Los Angeles Galaxy have lost just one in 15 to start the 2010 season. Obviously Saturday's game between the

Toronto adds former Chivas USA striker Santos >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC signed forward Maicon Santos, who was the released earlier this week by Chivas USA, the Major League Soccer club announced on Friday. "We are delighted to welcome Maicon on board," TFC manager, di

Sharks sign D Hjalmarsson to offer sheet >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have signed restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet. Hjalmarsson skated in 77 games last season for the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, who have

NL West: Rockies becoming the hitmen of baseball >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's all about making the 'hits' in organized crime. In Major League Baseball, producing hits is what usually wins games and the Colorado Rockies have been whacking opposing pitchers on their four-game winning st

FOOTBALL BETTING

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.