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11/09/2007 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Kansas City travels to Houston for the Major League Soccer Western Conference final Saturday, it won't be the typical matchup of rivals.
The Wizards finished fifth in the Eastern Conference table, and because of the new playoff format, moved into the Western bracket because they had more points than all but the top three clubs in the West.
As a result, the teams don't have that fierce playoff rivalry like say, the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire did heading into the Eastern final, won by the Revs 1-0 on Thursday.
Regardless, it figures to be a tough battle between two similar teams in front of about 30,000 fans at Robertson Stadium Saturday. The Wizards are the obvious underdogs as the last seed in the playoffs heading to the defending MLS champions' home field, but neither team looks at it that way.
"I think it is a good situation to be in because nobody expects you to win," Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo said. "I have told these guys that I think we have a team that can win a championship."
"According to everybody out there, we are just fortunate to be in this position so with this good fortune we are just going to do our best to make it a good game and send all those 30,000 people home not very happy," Wizards captain Jimmy Conrad said.
"We are expecting Kansas City to play their best game, defensively and attacking wise," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. "Because if we don't go in with the utmost respect and not an ounce of fear as we play them, we are doing a disservice to them and to ourselves. We have to prepare for this as if it is a final, because it really is. If we win this game we go on, if not our season is over. We have to expect that their players, individually and collectively, are going to play their best game, and we have to approach it that way because if we don't and they end up doing that, then we are in for a lot of trouble."
The Wizards have tremendous speed up top with Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy, which will present a much different challenge for the Dynamo defense than the what it faced in the Dallas series.
"Johnson and Sealy have pretty incredible speed so it is quite different than what we faced in Dallas," Houston captain Wade Barrett said. "They had (Carlos) Ruiz and (Kenny) Cooper up top which, neither one of those players is one that looks to get behind the defense as often. Against those guys our central defenders are able to stay high but we have to be a little bit more careful now that they have the threat to get behind our defense (against the Wizards)."
"You have midfielders who have played in championship games like Kerry Zavagnin and Sacha Victorine and also Davy Arnaud is a very good player," Kinnear said of Kansas City. "And you look up front and a lot of the goal scoring production comes from Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy and they enjoy playing together. The one thing that stands out is their pace, which can be scary at times."
The Dynamo defense, which allowed an all-time league low .77 goals-against- average while also setting a record with a 727 minute shutout streak this season, will need to continue that form to shut down the Wizards.
"I think they press the ball very, very well," Onalfo said. "I think their backline moves very well together. They have two very good central defenders (in Barrett and Eddie Robinson) and they are just intimidating because they are very, very aggressive. I just think they have overall good team shape and that's what good teams do."
The Wizards also face a much different team than they did in the semis, when they upset the West's top seed, Chivas USA.
"What jumped out at me at first is their willingness to go wide," Conrad said of the Wizards. "I think Chivas likes to do a lot of attacking through the middle. I think with Houston and (forward) Brian Ching, I think they do a good job of getting the ball wide and getting crosses into the box and getting guys in good spots to finish them off. That is going to probably be the most different wrinkle from Chivas to Houston. With that being said, I think (Houston midfielder) Dwayne De Rosario is a big X factor. He really makes a difference in the game and I don't think anybody on Chivas really has that kind of ability to really change a game with one play."
De Rosario and Ching are known for their big game performances, with Ching scoring the tying goal in extra time of the MLS Cup last year while also scoring the game-winning shot in the penalty kick shootout to take home MLS Cup MVP honors last season. In the return leg of the Dallas series, De Rosario set Ching up on the goal that tied it before Ching scored the series clincher in extra time.
One thing going for Kansas City is its new-found confidence in its defense, after three straight clean sheets, dating back to their regular season finale.
"It really starts with the game we played in Dallas (in the regular season finale), a must win game to get into the playoffs," Conrad said. "I think the guys realized what it takes to win a game of that magnitude. We had 11 guys back behind the ball doing the dirty work and we got two goals going the other way. We saw that when we have that kind of commitment we can have a lot of success. That was a good 90 minutes for us to lead into the playoffs and I thought we kind of carried that mentality against Chivas. We can argue that we dodged a few bullets as well but to be successful and be champions you have to dodge a few bullets along the way."
All other things being equal, which they probably aren't, the Dynamo hope they get the performance out of their home crowd that they did against Dallas, when they used a dominating performance on the field in the home leg to win the total-goals series 4-2 after trailing 2-0 with 45 minutes to play in regulation.
"The 30,000-plus that we had Friday night (in the return leg) for the game against Dallas was the most incredible atmosphere that I have witnessed in a MLS game," Kinnear said. "I do thank our fans for giving us, what we feel is, a really good home field advantage.
"We do know going into this game on Saturday that we need to be on the top of our game to advance," he added.
If Houston wins, as expected, it will set up a rematch of last year's MLS Cup final with New England, scheduled to take place Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium.
"We know it is going to be an enormous challenge," Onalfo said. "Our guys are up for the challenge. We are very well prepared and we go in there confidently. We have a gameplan that we believe is going to be successful. It is just a matter of us going in and executing it."
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In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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