Thorrington's winner lifts Fire over Galaxy, into playoffs

Soccer Betting Lines

10/21/2007 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Soccer schedule maker couldn't have planned it any better.

The last game of the regular season was between two teams that were still in the hunt for the last playoff spot, while also featuring two of the league's biggest stars - Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Los Angeles' David Beckham.

The Galaxy seemed out of the race just three weeks ago, but ran off a seven game unbeaten streak, including five wins to get back into the race. The Fire were also on a seven game unbeaten streak heading into the last game, but only two of those were wins.

But the hopes of L.A. and its fans came to an end Sunday at Toyota Park. The Galaxy, needing a win to advance to the second season, fell to Chicago, 1-0, after a goal by the Fire's John Thorrington three minutes into second-half stoppage time.

It was Thorrington's first goal of the season and just the second of his career.

Blanco played a ball to Calen Carr in the offensive third before Carr found a streaking Thorrington headed toward the goal. L.A. goalkeeper Joe Cannon came out to challenge the chance, but Thorrington, in his third season in MLS, chipped a shot over him and into the goal to seal the visitors' fate.

The Fire just needed a draw to advance to the playoffs, but came out firing in the game - out-shooting the visitors 22-5 for their 10th win of the season. The Galaxy seemed uninspired for much of the contest, even though they needed just one more win to keep from missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

Cannon made 10 saves in the game, many of them of the spectacular variety, to give his team a chance, but as has been the story most of the season, it wasn't enough to push the Galaxy over the top.

Beckham came on in the 58th minute, but made little impact in the game as he was obviously not in game shape.

The loss starts a very interesting offseason for the Galaxy, with question marks all through the organization, from the GM to the coach to the players.

Chicago, on the other hand, will host D.C. United in the first leg of an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series this week.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

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