Rookie Mwanga helps Philadelphia draw Colorado

Soccer Betting Lines

08/14/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Danny Mwanga scored his seventh goal of the season and the Philadelphia Union tied the Colorado Rapids 1-1 at PPL Park on Saturday in Major League Soccer.

Mwanga scored in the 73rd minute, 14 minutes after Jeff Larentowicz opened the scoring for Colorado.

Philadelphia (4-10-5) settled for its second straight draw at home and slipped to 0-1-3 in its last four matches in the newly-built stadium in Chester, Pa.

Colorado (7-5-7) failed to build on a win over San Jose last weekend, which is the Rapids' lone win in its last nine matches.

After a slow first 30 minutes, the Union's Alejandro Moreno hit the right post in the 30th minute as he came within inches of his second goal of the season.

Union leading scorer Sebastien Le Toux fired wide left late in the first half, as Philadelphia failed to convert the best two chances in the opening half.

Philadelphia had another chance early in the second half when Mwanga set up Le Toux, but he missed wide left again with his 10th goal of the season in sight.

Colorado converted its first good chance 15 minutes into the second half, when Larentwoicz latched onto a ball just outside the box and drilled a shot inside the right post in the 59th minute for his second goal of the season.

Le Toux turned provider just under 15 minutes later when he ran onto a pass in the left side of the area, held off Colorado defender Marvell Wynne, and found Mwanga in the middle of the area.

Mwanga controlled the ball well with his first touch, then poked the ball past Colorado goalie Matt Pickens from close range. Mwanga, the No. 1 pick in the MLS draft, scored in his second straight match and has all of his goals in his last 11 games.

Pablo Mastroeni wasted a golden chance for Colorado to escape with a road win, as he fired wide right from the edge of the area in the 81st minute.

Philadelphia had two chances in stoppage time to earn its fourth home win, but Le Toux had a penalty appeal denied after he was fouled in the box in the 92nd and Michael Orozco Fiscal had a late goal called back for offside.

Colorado visits the Columbus Crew on Aug. 21 in its next game, while the Union take a five-game winless skid to D.C. United on Aug. 22 for their next match.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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