Union need result at home against FC Dallas

Soccer Betting Lines

05/14/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak said following the expansion club's fourth consecutive defeat last weekend the team is making mistakes "that should not happen."

Philadelphia has made mistakes in every match this season, but Saturday's game against FC Dallas gives the Union a chance to turn their season around at the only place, Lincoln Financial Field, where those errors were overshadowed.

The Union, who move into PPL Park in Chester, Pa. in June, won their only home match at the Linc, 3-2 over D.C. United on April 10.

Philadelphia made mistakes in that match as well, the most obvious an error by goalie Chris Seitz that led to a goal for United, but pulled out its only win. Sebastien Le Toux scored all three goals.

Outside of Philadelphia, the Union have been unable to overcome those errors.

Just last week in a 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake, defender Cristian Arrieta made a poor back pass to Seitz that led to Real's first goal and Roger Torres moved out of the way of a free kick that Seitz then mishandled to lead to the second goal.

"We made individual mistakes and that should not happen," Nowak said.

In addition to the errors, Philadelphia has scored the first goal in just one of its matches. Not surprisingly, it was the Union's lone win over United.

"The problem that we have been having so far with being away is that we have been making mistakes and haven't been able to score," Fred said on the club's website.

The Union have just three goals on the road and have allowed 11 but could very easily make an impact this year if it gets results at home. Philadelphia is on the road for eight of its first 10 matches, but spends most of the second half at home.

"It's important for any team to have a good record at home. Certainly the way we've started the season, we've put a little bit of pressure on ourselves to try and get those results at home," Union forward Alejandro Moreno said on the club's website.

Le Toux, who has missed the last two games through injury, should return this week. He has four of the team's six goals, and the Union need him up top along with Moreno against Dallas.

Dallas started the year without a win in its first five games - although four of those were draws - but has won its last two matches.

Kevin Hartman took over the starting goalkeeper spot from Dario Sala last week and posted two shutouts. Dallas beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Wednesday, then beat D.C. United 1-0 on Saturday. Hartman joined Dallas from Kansas City prior to the season.

"Personally, it's been great to get out there and have an opportunity to kind of prove myself. My biggest thing is just making sure that I'm providing a backbone for the guys in front of me that they're confident in," Hartman said on the club's website.

"That's something as a guy who has been here for a month or whatever doesn't really come naturally. You have to prove it."

Although Dallas has scored in every match this season, it has just nine goals. Coach Schellas Hyndman added Colombian striker Milton Rodriguez on Thursday, but he won't join the team until mid-July.

Jeff Cunningham leads the club with four goals and, after the first three came from the penalty spot, scored in the run of play against D.C.

Overall, Hartman is pleased with the team's recent success and hopes FC Dallas continues to find ways to earn three points.

"Obviously, coming off two 1-0 victories, it feels good for everyone. It shows that we're able to defend over 90 minutes and really manage a game," Hartman said. "Games earlier in the season that we really weren't getting three points from, we now find a way to do it.

"So, that's something for everybody that's great."

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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