Columbus, Dallas hope for more sharpness

Soccer Betting Lines

04/09/2010 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas hosts the Columbus Crew on Saturday night, with both Major League Soccer teams coming off bye weeks.

The Hoops earned a 1-1 draw vs. Texas rivals the Houston Dynamo in their season opening league fixture on March 27.

"It's probably very typical for the first game of the year," Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman told his club's website. "I thought there was a lot of energy from both teams. I thought it was a good game from the beginning to the end. I was very pleased with our play because we were down a goal to a very good team, the Houston Dynamo. It's not often that teams can come back and tie a game or score on Houston. They have that mentality of stepping onto you when you're down. I was very pleased with our mental attitude of coming back."

The Crew (1-0-0), on the other hand, are coming off a 2-0 home win vs. Toronto FC in their last league fixture on March 27. They weren't as sharp as they could be either, which is expected out of a season-opening effort.

"It wasn't a great game, but it was good because we won two-nil," Crew midfielder Adam Moffat told his club's website. "We probably should have won three, four, five-nil, but it's good to get the three points either way."

"All in all, it wasn't our best game," Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer told his team's website. "It was ugly at times. There wasn't a lot of rhythm. We're a little bit upset we didn't put the game away earlier. It was a little dodgy for awhile."

The Crew and Hoops (0-0-1) will both be aiming to clean up their play on Saturday, but after a week off, expect to see some offseason rust still evident for both clubs.

A key for the Crew will its ability to shut down Hoops attackers Jeff Cunningham and David Ferreira. That task could get easier if defender Chad Marshall, the '08 and '09 MLS Defender of the Year, is available. Marshall missed the team's season opening game with a hamstring injury.

"You always expect the same thing from Columbus," FCD's Dax McCarty told MLSsoccer.com. "They won MLS Cup a few years ago. They've been Supporters' Shield winners for the past few years. You know they're always going to give you a tough game. At the end of the day, they're definitely one of the best teams in MLS."

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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