Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
08/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suddenly FC Dallas is looking like a legitimate contender in Major League Soccer under head coach Schellas Hyndman.
That hasn't always been the case since the long-time Southern Methodist University coach took over for Steve Morrow in the middle of the 2008 season.
The 59-year-old Hyndman, who went 466-122-49 in his 26 years at SMU, got off to a rocky start in MLS, going 4-6-8 in '08 before going 11-13-6 in his first full season with Dallas in '09, missing the playoffs by a single point.
Then, the Hoops started the 2010 season without a win in their first five league fixtures.
For the first time in almost 30 years, Hyndman had to answer if he was the right man for the job.
"Going from an environment like SMU where you are very comfortable after 26 years and everybody loves you and expects a winner, and you've become a winner, to an environment where people are questioning your coaching abilities, your managing abilities, that was tough," Hyndman told The Sportsbook Betting Lines. "It's a different level, there are different expectations. I'm hoping those were the worst of times."
If the recent run that the team is on is any indication, those were definitely the worst of times.
Dallas (9-2-9) is currently one of the hottest teams in MLS, going unbeaten in 11 league fixtures while also not losing in its last nine road matches. It sits in third in the ultra-competitive Western table, three points behind defending MLS Cup champs Real Salt Lake with a game in hand, and seems poised to make a serious run over the final 10 games of the regular season and into the playoffs.
"We finished our first 10 games with 12 points, which were a very difficult 12 points to get," Hyndman said. "In our second 10 games we really focused on trying to hit 20 points and we hit 24. Now we are focusing on that final 10 games and seeing if we can get ourselves into the playoffs."
So what is the difference in the team? Why is it plugging along, mostly under the radar, with a league-low two losses?
One big difference has been the addition of veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who took over for Dario Sala in April. Hartman, 36, joined Dallas just before training camp after he was unable to come to terms with Kansas City, where he had started every game over the previous three seasons. The 13-year MLS veteran came into a sticky situation, where the 35-year-old Sala had been the starter for four seasons, earned his spot as the No. 1 after just two games, and hasn't looked back since.
"What Kevin brings is his communication and leadership from the goalkeeper position, which is outstanding," Hyndman said. "We have players who are in the right position because Kevin is giving them the direction. That's something we weren't maybe getting from Dario."
With Hartman directing an improved back line, Dallas has surrendered just 17 goals in 20 games. Hartman has allowed just 11 of those while going 9-1-6 with a league-low .69 goals-against average.
The team is also getting an MVP-calibre season out of David Ferreira, who not only pulls the strings in the attacking zone, but has been scoring as well, as evidenced by his six goals and eight assists.
"David Ferreira, in my opinion, is one of the best players in the league," Hyndman said. "He continues to find ways to be a difference maker, either scoring or assisting on goals. By the way, he is also the most fouled player in the league."
The Hoops continue to add depth as well, picking up Colombian forward Milton Rodriguez during the summer transfer window, which allows them to bring in speedy veteran Jeff Cunningham late in games.
The emergence of 20-year-old left winger Brek Shea, taking some of the pressure off the middle of the field, is just icing on the proverbial cake at this point.
"It's been a challenge, it's taken longer than I thought it would," Hyndman said of the club's recent success. "It's a pretty tough job whether you are winning or not winning, to be honest with you."
As tough as things have been to this point, it appears it is about to get tougher down the stretch, starting with the Hoops putting their road unbeaten run on the line on Saturday at Eastern table-leading Columbus.
"Right now I'm looking at our next 10 games and we play on the road this Saturday against Columbus," Hyndman said. "Any team that goes into Columbus is going to have a war because they are so hard to beat there."
Dallas also closes out its last 10 games at RSL and Los Angeles, the two teams ahead of it in the West, in October.
"We have some road matches coming up that are going to be tough tests," Hyndman said.
On top of that, the team has home matches against Eastern powers New York and Chicago.
"The key is the results. At this level you are being measured on one thing and one thing only, and that's results," Hyndman said.
And for the first time since he took over FC Dallas, Hyndman is delivering just that, results.
<< FIBA World Basketball Championship Preview - Group B
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Country: Brazil
FIBA Ranking: 14
Head Coach: Ruben Magnano
Key Players: Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, Tiago Splitter
Overview: Under the guidance of new head coach Ruben Magnano, who had
pr
<< FIBA World Basketball Championship Preview - Group A
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Country: Angola
FIBA Ranking: 12
Head Coach: Luis Magalhaes
Key Players: Joaquim 'Kikas' Gomes, Olimpio Cipriano
Overview: For years, the Angolan team has been associated as the African
nation C
<< Hara will take charge of Japan on interim basis
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hiromi Hara, the technical director of the
Japanese Football Association, will take charge of the national team for a
pair of upcoming friendlies as he continues to search for a new manager.
Japan adv
<< Juventus confirms Aquilani move
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus announced on Wednesday that the club
has acquired Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani on loan, with an option for
a permanent move for $20 million at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old Aquila
Kroenke becomes majority owner of Rams >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced on Wednesday
that E. Stanley Kroenke has become the majority owner of the club.
The decision was made via a vote by the rest of the league's owners at a
meeting in Atlanta.
"St
CFL Previews - August 27-28 - Week Nine >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
CALGARY STAMPEDERS (6-1) at BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (1-6)
DATE & TIME: Friday, August 27, 10:30 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: A couple of teams heading in opposite directions in the CFL's
Western Division
NL West: Padres running away with division >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only a monumental collapse or some gypsy curse over the
next few weeks can derail the San Diego Padres in their quest for a third
division title since 2005.
The Padres won the NL West five years ago and share
Travers is wide-open Mid-Summer Derby >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes
has attracted an evenly matched field of 11 three-year-olds. Saratoga's Mid-
Summer Derby will be conducted over the main track at 1 1/4-miles.
Local winner A
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting