Dynamo need "aggressive, strong approach" vs. Hoops

Soccer Betting Lines

11/02/2007 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston coach Dominic Kinnear is sure Dallas is expecting the defending champions to come out strong in the Western Conference Semifinals on Friday and "we shouldn't disappoint them," he said.

Second-seeded Houston dropped the first leg of the two-game, aggregate series at Dallas last week, 1-0, and needs to rally in the second leg for the second year in a row if it hopes to retain the MLS Cup.

Houston also fell behind by a goal after the first leg of the opening round of last year's playoffs to Chivas USA, but rebounded for a 2-0 victory at home in the second leg.

"Friday can't come fast enough. We need to just go out there and play a game and win. At the end, we need to win," Kinnear said. "Probably we need to come out from the get go with a nice aggressive, strong approach."

Although Houston is a more defensive-minded team (it allowed an MLS record of just 23 goals during the regular season), it's also a team loaded on offense.

United States national team forward Brian Ching and forward Joseph Ngwenya had a team-high seven goals apiece during the regular season. Ching needed just 20 games to score his seven goals and also register three assists.

Dwayne De Rosario, a Canadian national team player and last season's MLS MVP, chipped in six goals. Nate Jaqua also had six goals for Houston - in just 15 games - after being acquired during the season in a trade with Los Angeles.

Midfielders Stuart Holden (five goals and five assists in 22 matches), Brad Davis (three goals and three assists) and Ricardo Clark (two goals and three assists) are also dangerous weapons.

Clark, another U.S. national team player, did his damage in just 19 games.

That's why Houston goalie Pat Onstad, who posted 11 shutouts during the year, knows a comeback won't be that hard if the Dynamo can avoid falling behind by another goal to the third-seeded Hoops.

"One goal is definitely not insurmountable. It's not hard to come back from that, but if you make it two or three, then you are in big trouble," Onstad said.

Houston also knows it can beat Dallas, since it posted a 3-0-1 mark against its in-state rivals during the regular season and allowed just one goal in the four matches.

"We're going back home and know exactly what we want to do. On the road, we did well," Davis said. "We went down one but that's all we let in. Our heads are up going back home and we look forward to working hard and trying to win."

Dallas is still in a great position to advance, thanks to Clarence Goodson's goal in the first leg last week. Although Dallas doesn't need to beat Houston, a draw would be enough, it has never had much success at Robertson Stadium. Dallas has never beaten Houston on the road and managed just one tie.

"I think we've proven to ourselves this season in places where we haven't been able to win before," FCD defender Bobby Rhine said. "We know that none of that really matters. All that matters is playing on Friday."

Dallas coach Steve Morrow doesn't plan to play for a draw, either.

"We're 100 percent confident that we're going to go there and win the game," Morrow said. "We're not going there to get a tie. We're going there to win the game and to attack. We need to possess the ball better than we did the other night and play with as much intensity and fully intend to go there and win like we've done at other places this season."

It remains to be seen what lineup Morrow uses, but after not playing Denilson last week, the Brazilian told The Dallas Morning News, "I didn't sign here to be on the bench."

Lotteruamerica Soccer Betting News

<< Prince and Pistons start season with win over Miami
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tayshaun Prince scored a career-high 34 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Detroit over Miami, 91-80, in the opener for both clubs at AmericanAirlines Arena. The game was missing much of its star

<< Sao Paulo clinches second straight title
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sao Paulo clinched its second league title in a row and fifth overall with a 3-0 win over America RN on Wednesday. Sao Paulo tied Flamengo as the only teams to win five league titles. Sao Paulo also

<< Davenport advances at Bell Challenge
Quebec City, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Lindsay Davenport was a second round winner at the $175,000 Bell Challenge on Thursday. Davenport advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak and w

<< Koivu leads Canadiens past Flyers
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal captain Saku Koivu had a goal and an assist, brushing aside criticism directed his way earlier in the week, as the Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, at the Bell Centre. The Finnish Koivu

<< Senators hold off Thrashers
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and two assists as the Ottawa Senators held off a furious third-period Atlanta rally for a 6-4 win at Scotiabank Place. Randy Robitaille had a pair of goals and Ray Emery finish

McKee, Blues top Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay McKee's first goal in 33 games was the difference, as St. Louis edged the struggling Minnesota Wild, 3-2, at Xcel Energy Center. Keith Tkachuk and Martin Rucinsky scored for the Blues, who w

Zetterberg continues to roll as Detroit downs Calgary >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Zetterberg scored the go-ahead goal, and added another late in the game to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk each h

Glennon leads Hokies past Georgia Tech >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Glennon threw for two touchdowns and ran in another, leading No. 11 Virginia Tech past Georgia Tech, 27-3, in a key ACC Coastal Division showdown. Glennon ended 22-of-32 for 296 yards for the Hokies (7

McGrady scores 47 to boost Rockets over Jazz >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tracy McGrady poured in 47 points as Houston downed Utah, 106-95, at EnergySolutions Arena Mike James added 15 points and seven assists off the bench for the Rockets, who opened up their season

Avs edge Penguins with three-goal period >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Guite notched the go-ahead tally in Colorado's three-goal second period, while Jose Theodore made the lead stand up in the third, helping the Avalanche hold off the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, at the

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.