Bottom feeders, L.A., N.E. aim to gain ground

Soccer Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Major League Soccer clubs stuck in the bottom third of their respective conference tables square off on Saturday when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the New England Revolution at The Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy (3-3-9) are actually coming off an impressive 1-0 win over league leading Houston in their last league match on Sunday.

"I thought for the first time this year our central backs played extremely well over 90 minutes," Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said. "They were pretty consistent. They didn't make any mistakes. They controlled the line very well, and organized the team extremely well. To me, it was all about our central backs, the start of the game was better. We consistently at home have given up the first goal, played with 10 players and done all the things you do to lose games. Fortunately, we got a point out of a lot of them. We corrected those mistakes [vs. Houston]. We didn't put ourselves behind the eight ball and chase the game."

The Galaxy are hoping a busy July schedule will propel them right back into playoff contention.

"We talked about trying to get ahead of in games, and play the game on our terms while also doing a better job in reacting to goals against us if we do fall behind," L.A.'s Eddie Lewis said. "But in general, it was a very good win for us. It is another building block for us as we move on in the season."

New England (4-4-4), on the other hand, is coming off a 3-1 loss in its last league fixture on June 13 at Kansas City. The team has been successful as of late, however, with two wins in three tries in SuperLiga action.

"I don't know if you guys have looked at our bench, but it's looking pretty slim. We only have three or four guys. Rosters were cut this year and it's become a lot more difficult on us," said defender Jeff Larentowicz. "At this point, we're playing in essentially three different competitions right now so we're going to have four or five games in two weeks. It's a lot of games with half the roster."

The Revs will be without defender Jay Heaps because of his participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, while defender Chris Albright, midfielders Mauricio Castro, Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston, and forward Taylor Twellman are out with injuries. Defenders Kevin Alston and Gabriel Badilla are questionable with knocks of their own.

"We're already bare-bones coming into the game," Revolution defender Chris Tierney said. "What did we have, 15 guys? We've had so many games. Guys are struggling with knocks and we just can't take risks. If someone pulls something, they have to come out. There's nothing we can do about it."

The Galaxy will be without goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts because of international duty and defenders Sean Franklin and Julian Valentin because of injury. Midfielder Dema Kovalenko and defender Yohance Marshall are questionable and goalkeeper Josh Saunders is probable.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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