Dynamo jump back into league action at Crew

Soccer Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo get back into Major League Soccer action on Saturday after a two week break when they travel to take on the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium.

The Dynamo (5-7-4) played three SuperLiga matches during their break, going 2-0-1 while topping Mexican team's Pachuca and Pueblo to win their group.

"Overall, to come out on top of this group, I am pleased for the guys," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear told mlssoccer.com.

Now the Western Conference club sets its sights back on league play, traveling to play the Crew, which it played in its last MLS fixture as well, a scoreless draw on July 10.

"I think we're just inches away from pulling off something good here," Kinnear said after the game. "We are inching along, and we need to take some big steps now, but I do think we are on the verge of starting to do that."

The Crew (9-3-4) are coming off a top-of-the-table match with Red Bull New York that they dominated 2-0 to take a five point lead in the East.

"We found the goals," forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto told mlssoccer.com. "They didn't have opportunities to score. We controlled the game for 90 minutes."

The win snapped a two-game winless run in league play, so the first-placed Crew were happy to bounce back.

"We played one of the best games," Crew coach Robert Warzycha told mlssoccer.com. "The players responded very well. As a team we played very well."

The Crew will have to find a way to get a positive result at home without two key players, veteran defender Frankie Hejduk and midfielder Brian Carroll, who will miss the game because of suspension and injury, respectively.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.