Zakuani claims MLS POW award with brace against Rapids

Soccer Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Zakuani of Seattle Sounders FC was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 17 of the 2010 MLS season on Monday.

Zakuani scored both of Seattle's goals in a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Sunday night at Qwest Field, giving him a team-leading seven goals on the season, with both strikes coming inside of 17 minutes.

The 22-year-old was the first to react to a ball in the box in the 8th minute and sent a shot that ricocheted off the post and then deflected off goalkeeper Matt Pickens and into the net to give the Sounders the early lead.

Omar Cummings scored one minute later to equalize for Colorado, but Zakuani restored the Sounders' advantage by finishing off a cross from Sanna Nyassi in the 17th minute.

"It's a case we have been in every game we have played this year and we've been losing them, and now what we have been doing is turning those into wins," Zakuani told mlssoccer.com after the match. "Tonight, we didn't play great, but we get the win. We just have to keep it going."

Zakuani becomes the fifth different Seattle Sounders player to win the Player of the Week award in the club's first two seasons of existence and the first one this year.

The MLS Player of the Week award is selected each week by the North American Soccer Reporters. The group consists of members of online, print, television, radio media. More information can be found at soccerreporters.com.

2010 MLS Player of the Week winners:

Week 1: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)

Week 2: Kenny Mansally (New England Revolution)

Week 3: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)

Week 4: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)

Week 6: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Week 7: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Week 8: Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)

Week 9: Emilio Renteria (Columbus Crew)

Week 10: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)

Week 11: Brek Shea (FC Dallas)

Week 12: Chris Pontius (D.C. United)

Week 13: Juan Pablo Angel (Red Bull New York)

Week 14: Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)

Week 15: Justin Braun (Chivas USA)

Week 16: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)

Week 17: Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders)

Casinosportplay Soccer Betting News

<< Hornets GM says Paul did not ask for trade at meeting
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul met with Hornets management Monday, and new general manager Dell Demps reportedly said Paul did not ask to be traded. According to The Times-Picayune, D

<< Rachel Alexandra gains spot in poll after Monmouth victory
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra moved into third in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll. The four-year- old filly advanced one position following a win Saturday at Monmouth Park. Owned b

<< Vick cleared to play by NFL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Vick is clear to play this season, the NFL announced Monday. Posting on his Twitter account, league spokesman Greg Aiello said in regard to Vick, "there has been no change in his playing status. Be

<< NHLPA files grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk's free agency saga took another turn on Monday when the NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on behalf of the Russian superstar who had his 17-year, $102 million contract with New Jersey

<< Lightning name Tod Leiweke CEO
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning chairman and governor Jeff Vinik announced Monday that Tod Leiweke has been named the team's chief executive officer. Officially, Leiweke becomes the CEO of Tampa Bay Sports and Ent

Overdue Fish finally hits his stride >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota native Mardy Fish is currently enjoying the best stretch of his tennis career since joining the pro ranks 10 years ago. Don't look now, but the 28-year-old American has now won his last two tour

Aggies' WR coach Kragthorpe resigns to tend to family issues >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas A&M wide receivers coach Steve Kragthorpe has resigned to tend to family medical issues, the school announced Monday. Kragthorpe joined the Texas A&M staff in February after head coac

Haren to make Angels debut Monday >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren will make his Angels debut Monday night, one day after being acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Haren will take the hill for the Halos in the series opener at Ange

Orioles' Scott earns AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 25. Scott hit an AL-leading four home runs and added three doubles and eight runs

Cubs' Ramirez earns NL weekly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending July 25. The 32-year-old slugger hit .360 and his four home runs tied for the lead in

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.