D.C. can clinch playoff berth against Real

Soccer Betting Lines

09/11/2007 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United can extend its unbeaten streak to nine games and clinch a spot in the postseason with a win against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

United has won seven times during their unbeaten run to move into first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in Major League Soccer.

"I give our team a lot of credit in a lot of ways, because they are resilient. They've been through a hard schedule and getting up for games," United coach Tom Soehn said. "I've pushed them pretty hard through this stretch and they responded."

Since losing its first three games of the season, D.C. is 14-3-3. In addition to clinching a playoff berth, United can extend its lead over New England to eight points with a victory.

D.C. is also seeking some revenge for one of its three losses in the last five months. Real Salt Lake won its first game of the season against D.C., 2-1, on June 23. United had a seven-game unbeaten streak, including five wins, before losing to Real earlier this season.

Although that result was the biggest upset of the season at the time, Real has become a much stronger side down the stretch. While it's doubtful Real will be able to make the playoffs for the first time in team history, it has won three of its last six to move within 11 points of the final berth.

Three of Real's victories this season are against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. In addition to snapping United's previous unbeaten streak, Real ended Houston's 11-game unbeaten streak this season.

Real had its two-game winning streak snapped Saturday against Houston because of a few breakdowns on defense, but played well to nearly erase a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 loss.

"I couldn't speak too knowledgeably about (our defense), so I tend not to, but there's got to be questions about why there are guys running completely free in the six-yard box on our goal," Real coach Jason Kreis said.

Although defense let Real down against Houston, that hasn't been a problem for the team for most of the season. RSL has posted four shutouts and is normally stingy on defense but struggles offensively.

Fabian Espindola, one of three recent Argentinean signings, has helped spark the offense. He has two goals in five games. Real had just 14 goals - one was an own goal - in its first 22 games, but has eight in its last three.

"We realize that we haven't scored enough over the first three-quarters of the season," Kreis said, "so we have been trying to figure out how we're going to get players forward and how we're going to get them forward quickly."

Scoring hasn't been a problem for D.C. this season. United leads the league with 46 goals, which is seven more than New England.

D.C. forward Luciano Emilio leads MLS with 18 goals. He is just five goals shy of the team record of 23 set by Raul Diaz Arce in 1996.

"I didn't know about the record, but if there is the possibility of breaking the record I will try - (but) that is not my main concern," Emilio said. "My focus is to play well for the team in order for the team to win."

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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