Dallas Sport Fan – Mavs Snap Out Of It, Stars On Thin Ice, Romo Tees It Up With Tiger, Rangers Tie Up Important Players
February 9, 2012 by Guest Contributor · Leave a Comment
Dallas Sport Fan – Mavs Snap Out Of It, Stars On Thin Ice, Romo Tees It Up With Tiger, Rangers Tie Up Important Players
If you write a soccer blog in Dallas, the MLS season hasn’t started yet, so fans of FC Dallas still have some time to focus on the other teams in the area. The defending champion Mavericks are rounding into form, the Stars are trying to stay within shouting distance of the playoffs, the Rangers are still improving their team, while the Cowboys’ quarterback is making news off the field this week, but in a good way.
The Mavericks lost two of their three games last week, falling to Indiana and at Cleveland, but they snapped a three-game skid with a victory in Denver on Wednesday night, and a Bodog review of Dallas’ early season would state that they’ve done pretty well in the face of injuries, and they still don’t have Jason Kidd back, although he could be back on the weekend as the Denver game was the sixth that he’d missed. This week coming, the Mavericks head to Minnesota on Friday night before returning home to host Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Nuggets.
Dallas has picked themselves up after a five-game skid last month, but players that purchase bookie software should still be skeptical of their playoff chances despite being only two points out of eighth place. The Stars were thumped in San Jose last Thursday before they bounced back for a shootout win in Minnesota, but then they were handled at home by Phoenix and the Stars are now struggling to find consistency down for the stretch run. This week’s slate sees the Stars going to Columbus and Buffalo for back-to-back games, then they host Los Angeles before travelling to Detroit to wrap up a busy week.
The Cowboys are still looking at ways to improve their status among those that work with price per head sports services, but it is a long offseason and the players are unwinding. Quarterback Tony Romo loves to play golf and he is pretty good, almost qualifying for the U.S. Open in recent years, and he will be paired up with Tiger Woods at the star-studded AT&T Pebble Beach National at venerable Pebble Beach. Woods is resuming his chase for the all-time major-championship record, and he has had high praise for Romo’s golf game as well, so this will get a lot of attention over the weekend.
The Rangers are tying up some of their players after the Yu Darvish signing, as they agreed with Elvis Andrus on a three-year, $14.4 million deal and they’re working on re-signing Nelson Cruz, whose big bat was a major factor in their postseason run which ended in a second consecutive loss in the World Series. The Rangers are going to be in tough in the West as the Los Angeles Angels reloaded with Albert Pujols and former Texas ace C.J. Wilson, so you may even be able to find some value on their World Series odds at places like Bodog.
Dallas Sports Fan – Rangers Take Center Stage, FC Dallas Looks To Gain Fans
June 23, 2011 by Guest Contributor · Leave a Comment
With no NFL betting picks to make, players in the Dallas area are looking for other ways to occupy themselves, especially with the NBA and NHL seasons concluded as well. That means the Texas Rangers should be the focus of the summer, but don’t forget about the city’s MLS team that is a legitimate threat to win the league title.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers are off on Thursday, and they’ll take a two-game lead over Seattle into their off-day. Texas bounced back from a five-game skid by winning four of their six games over the last week, taking two of three in Atlanta, and then doing the same at home against state rivals Houston. Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton and Mitch Moreland hit two homers each over the week, while Cruz hit .400 as well, while Colby Lewis had a big week, going 1-0 in two starts with a 1.32 ERA. If there was a negative, it’s that closer Neftali Feliz blew his fourth save of the season in a 5-3 loss to the Astros, but the Rangers still have plenty of faith in him. Betting players will likely see the Rangers favored a few times over the next week as they’ll welcome the New York Mets to town on Friday for a three-game series, while the Astros come to the Ballpark on Tuesday for another three-game set.
FC Dallas
While some in the area are looking forward to NHL free agency due to the Brad Richards situation, soccer betting should get some attention as FC Dallas is following out their trip to the MLS Cup finals last season, which ended in an extra-time loss to Colorado, by getting off to a good start in the 2011 campaign. FC Dallas trails Los Angeles by six points in the Western Conference, and they’re coming off a 2-1 win at Chivas USA, thanks to goals by Jackson and Brek Shea, who has now scored in two straight matches and is tied for sixth in MLS in scoring with five tallies. Dallas returns home on Saturday to take on Portland at Pizza Hut Park, and they are out to avenge a 3-2 loss in the northwest region back on April 17th in which FCD scored two late goals, but their furious comeback rally came up just short. Dallas is favored at -180 while Portland comes in at +475, and given Portland’s struggles on the road (no wins in six games), Dallas should come away with the win as they try and close the gap on the Galaxy. While you’re browsing your sportsbook on Saturday, it wouldn’t hurt to back Dallas in your online betting picks.
The Top Ten: Best Sports Video Games
July 20, 2009 by Cody Dunlap · 13 Comments
With the release of Madden ’10 looming on the horizon and NCAA Football ’10 still fresh on the shelves, it seemed like the perfect time to break out a list. What list? The ten best sports video games ever conceived by mankind.
There are no fancy ranking systems or formulas to determine which of these is the best sports video game; purely my own personal experience and bias. If you don’t like my choices, post your own in the comments. Before we get to the list, though, we’ve got a few games that didn’t quite make the cut for best sports video game. And just as a point: racing games were not included for consideration. Read more
Confederations Cup Championship Preview: United States vs. Brazil/South Africa
June 24, 2009 by Cody Dunlap · Leave a Comment
With their remarkable 2-0 victory over FIFA #1 Spain still fresh, the United States will take to the pitch in South Africa on Sunday looking for its first ever FIFA Confederations Cup title. The Yanks will take on the winner of the Brazil-South Africa match (set for Thursday) in a game no one expected the U.S. to be in.
If I had to bet on the opponent, I would say Brazil, but I didn’t think there was too much of a chance the U.S. would be celebrating after today’s match either.
DETAILS:
Who: United States vs. Brazil/South Africa
What: FIFA Confederations Cup Final
When: 1:30 pm Central time (ESPN)
Where: Johannesburg, South Africa
Besides being the first final for the United States in the Confederations Cup, this is also the first final ever for the U.S. in any FIFA competition ever. Heading into the match, Spain was the top-ranked team in the world in FIFA’s rankings. The United States sat 14th.
The first two games of the tournament saw Head Coach Bob Bradley’s U.S. team post two lackluster efforts – losing 3-1 to 2006 World Cup Champion Italy and 3-0 to world power Brazil. But a 3-0 U.S. win over Egypt on Sunday along with a 3-0 Brazil win over Italy got the U.S. into the semifinals where they posted a two goal victory.
Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey each scored goals and goalkeeper Tim Howard made several key saves to key the win.
The game on Sunday will be played in South Africa’s capital city of Johannesburg, as the host nation of South Africa is looking to upset power Brazil and create what would surely be one of the unlikeliest finals anyone could have imagined at the start of the tournament.
If the U.S. has any hope of winning, they will have to do so without midfielder Michael Bradley, who was sent off in the 87th minute due to a red card. Another key will be the defense, which was bolstered by the return of defender Carlos Bocanegra from an injured hamstring.
All of the defenders had a strong game along with Bocanegra. Jonathan Spector has been a stalwart at right back, starting every game in the tournament. Jay DeMerit and Ricardo Clark also turned in strong performances against the Spaniards.
The U.S. did not have many chances against Spain, but Altidore’s goal in the 27th minute set the tone. A similar play will be needed in the next game for the Americans if they hope to pull off another victory.
Hopefully the final will be an exciting one, as the effort against Spain from the U.S. came somewhat out of nowhere after some inconsistent international results. With strong defense and opportunities that can be turned into goals, the United States could be looking at flying home from Johannesburg with a first place trophy.
