Hard times hit United after Open Cup setback
Soccer Betting Lines
09/02/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United hit rock bottom Wednesday. The
most storied franchise in Major League Soccer history was already on the verge
of their worst season in history, and it got even worse with their U.S. Open
Cup exit.
That D.C. United lost again was not a surprise - that's what they've done this
year. How United lost, interim manager Ben Olsen said after a 2-1, extra-
time loss to the Columbus Crew was "cruel."
United took a one-goal lead into the final minutes of the Open Cup semifinals,
holding onto an early lead despite an ejection of goal scorer Pablo Hernandez,
when Marc Burch scored into his own net with one minute left in regulation.
Columbus added a second goal eight minutes into extra time, and United dropped
out of the competition just seconds short of another finals appearance. It was
a tough loss, would have been for any team, but even more so for this one.
United has won four games this year in MLS through 22 matches. Yes, four. That
equals the number of championships the team has won in league's first 14 years
in existence.
"This season has been abysmal," United's Santino Quaranta said, "and [the Open
Cup] was the only thing we had going for us."
Until the last minute Wednesday night.
Burch's own goal erased a chance for D.C. to return to the U.S. Open Cup final
for the third straight year. The last two years, the once-proud club failed to
make the MLS playoffs, but thrived in the Open Cup tournament.
United won the U.S. Open Cup two seasons ago, and lost in the final to Seattle
Sounders FC last year. Now, United will watch Seattle defend its title against
Columbus next month.
D.C. will have to turn its focus solely to MLS, where over the last eight games
of the season, it will try to avoid accumulating a number of records no team
wants.
United, 4-14-3, could overtake the 2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny for the worst year in
league history if it loses its last eight games. Tampa Bay went 4-23-3 and had
a .185 winning percentage. D.C. could finish with a .183 winning percentage.
United has been shut out 14 times in league play, just one off the record. With
15 goals so far in the league - or only two more than MLS scoring leader Edson
Buddle of the Los Angeles Galaxy - D.C. needs 10 goals to avoid the lowest sum
ever in a single-season.
"We'll keep pushing, somehow regroup," Olsen said Wednesday, "then start again
on the weekend."
United returns to MLS action Saturday against Columbus, then visits Toronto FC
and Los Angeles. Houston, Colorado, San Jose, Chicago and another game against
Toronto wraps up the schedule.
Olsen, who helped United to its MLS Cup titles in 1998 and 2004, can only hope
to start building the foundation for the team's next boss. Olsen replaced Curt
Onalfo earlier this season, but isn't considered a candidate for the full-time
job.
D.C.'s fall, which has happened over the last few seasons, can be traced to a
number of bad roster decisions, including trading ex-MLS Defender of the Year
Bobby Boswell to Houston in 2007.
Boswell was shipped out for backup goalie Zach Wells (who retired in 2009 when
he was just 29), and then the signings of five South Americans last offseason,
including Marcelo Gallardo, failed to produce much for the club. None of those
players are still in D.C.
Before this season, United traded Brazilian midfielder Fred, a first-round pick
and allocation money to the Philadelphia Union to acquire the right to ex-D.C.
goalie Troy Perkins, who returned to the league following a stint in Europe.
Perkins has allowed nearly two goals a game in 15 starts and lost his starting
spot to rookie Bill Hamid.
After reaching the MLS Cup in the first four years the league existed and with
wins in three of those finals, United hit a tough stretch from 2000-2002. D.C.
returned to the playoffs for the following five seasons, meaning there is some
hope the current three-year slide is just another rough patch.
However, United's attendance has slipped below 15,000 for the first time ever.
It now seems that the word "TRADITION" - proudly displayed below the collar on
the back of their jerseys - is all the club has right now.
<< D'Backs' Hudson named NL Rookie of the Month
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named the National League Rookie of the Month for August.
Hudson went 4-1 with a 1.85 earned-run average in six starts during the month.
He led all National Le
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Pujols batted .379 over 26 games in August and led the National League with 11
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New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz has
been selected as the American League's top rookie for the month of August.
Matusz went 4-1 with a 2.43 earned-run average over six starts in August. He
led AL r
<< Atlanta's Hudson voted NL Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson has been
named the National League Pitcher of the Month for August.
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<< Federer rolls into third round at the Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer was
an easy second-round winner Thursday at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised past German Andreas Beck
6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at Ashe Stadium.
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former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic were a pair of second-round winners
Thursday at the 2010 U.S. Open.
The 2009 runner-up Wozniacki double-bageled Taipei's Kai-Chen
Toronto's Bautista wins AL monthly award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista
was named the American League Player of the Month for August.
Bautista torrid month-long stretch with the bat saw him lead the A.L. in home
runs (12), RBI (24)
Boston's Buchholz named AL Pitcher of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz was
named the American League Pitcher of the Month for August.
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starts. He struck out
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Braves activate Glaus >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves activated first baseman
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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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