Twellman's bicycle kick snuffs Fire

Soccer Betting Lines

11/08/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple days after the New England Revolution won their first trophy in franchise history, the U.S. Open Cup, Major League Soccer's 2007 Defender of the Year Michael Parkhurst said, "These opportunities don't come very much in the sport. We want to take advantage of these championship runs when they come along."

After a Taylor Twellman bicycle kick goal held up on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in the MLS Eastern Conference final, the Revs have a chance to take advantage of another championship run. This time for the MLS Cup after the team advanced to the league championship game for the third consecutive year.

Twellman scored the spectacular goal in the 38th minute after winger Wells Thompson crossed into the Chicago penalty area. Twellman headed the ball straight up in the air, turned and fired an overhead shot between defenders Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause and past goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the 1-0 lead.

The goal was Twellman's ninth in MLS playoff history to tie him with Brian McBride for seventh all-time. Twellman has tallied six goals in his last seven playoff games, including two in three games this season.

His fifth career playoff goal against the Fire would hold up as the Revolution knocked rivals Chicago out of the playoffs for the fourth time in their playoff history. The Revs also improve to 6-0-0 all-time at home against the Fire in the postseason while snapping the visitors 10-game unbeaten streak.

The game started with the Revolution getting a couple early shots - by Twellman and Thompson - in the first four minutes, but neither was on target.

C.J. Brown had Chicago's first shot, but it also went wide in the sixth minute.

Chicago forward Paulo Wanchope had the first legitimate chance two minutes later when he took control of the ball in the box, but his shot from the right side of the penalty area went wide of the far post.

Twellman had the best early chance of the game about 10 minutes later when he headed a shot from about six-yards out toward the far post, but a diving Pickens got a hand on it to tip it over the crossbar and keep the game scoreless.

Chicago's best chance of the first half occurred on a free kick from outside the left side of the Revs' box. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who drew the foul, took the kick and played a perfect ball to Wanchope, who was alone in the middle of the six-yard box and onside only because defender Avery John was level with him. Wanchope got his head on the cross, but he snapped it wide of the near post.

Twellman then gave the home side the first-half lead with a his bicycle kick goal seven minutes before the break.

Revs' captain Steve Ralston had a great look from the top of the box in the 44th minute after Twellman and Pat Noonan worked the defense before playing a ball to the veteran, but the league's all-time leader in assists blasted the shot high and wide.

The second half started slow as the Revs defense, led by Parkhurst and central midfielder Shalrie Joseph, shut down the Fire attack. The visitors did get a chance when a Chad Barrett blast from the top of the box went wide of the left post just before the hour mark.

Wilman Conde let a 30-yard knuckler loose three minutes later, but it just wide of the left post also.

Five minutes later, Twellman tried for the double with a chip shot after Khano Smith received a pass from Noonan and found the forward on the right side at the top of the box, but it was saved by Pickens.

About 10 minutes later, with the Fire pressing for the equalizer, Chicago defender Gonzalo Segares blasted long shot in on goal that was saved by Matt Reis, one of his 10 saves in the game.

Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio brought in Justin Mapp, who has missed the previous 11 games with an ankle injury, in the 77th minute in an effort to spark his team's offense, but the talented American had little impact in the final 13 minutes.

Pickens kept it close seven minutes from time with a save on Noonan, who drove at the defense, beat a defender then hit a shot from a crowd in the box.

Fire attacker Chris Rolfe, held in check most of the game after scoring two goals in the semis against D.C., had two shots in the final five minutes, but was unable to beat Reis.

The Fire's last good chance came in the 90th minute when late substitute Calen Carr headed a Blanco cross on goal from close range, but Reis did well to hang on for his third shutout in three postseason games this season and seventh all-time, good for a fourth-place tie with former Columbus 'keeper Tom Presthus.

The Revs will now play the winner of the other conference final between defending champs Houston and Kansas City on Saturday. The MLS Cup final will be Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Mysportsbool Soccer Betting News

<< Gomez, Rangers down Pens
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Gomez had a goal and an assist to lead the Rangers past the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2, at Madison Square Garden. Sean Avery scored a goal and set up another for the Rangers, who had won four straight

<< Devils continue dominance over Flyers at home
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karel Rachunek had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils downed the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, at Prudential Center. Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta each scored for the Devils, who snapped a two- game s

<< Holmqvist, O'Brien lead Lightning over Canes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane O'Brien netted a pair of goals to pace the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, at the RBC Center. Vaclav Prospal had a goal and two assists and Michel Ouellet donated a pair of helpe

<< Wolverine guard Smith suspended one game
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan junior guard Jerret Smith has been suspended for the Wolverines' season opener against Radford on November 9 for violating the team policy regarding class attendance, the school announced Thursda

<< Tampa Bay Rays introduce new name, mascot, uniforms
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays officially dropped the "Devil" from their name, and the new Tampa Bay Rays introduced their new image, mascot, and uniforms in a ceremony held in downtown St. Petersb

Jefferson and Nets keep Washington winless >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Jefferson finished with 25 points and hit a pair of difference-making free throws with under 30 seconds remaining as the New Jersey Nets recovered from a dismal first half to oust the sti

Kozlov, Capitals stun Senators >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Viktor Kozlov had a goal and two assists as the Washington Capitals shocked the Ottawa Senators with a 4-1 win at Scotiabank Place. Nicklas Backstrom scored his first career goal while Tomas Fleischmann a

Canadiens edge Bruins >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in a tight contest between two Original Six and Northeast Division rivals at TD Banknorth Garden.

Fasth and Stadler lead in Shanghai >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niclas Fasth and Kevin Stadler each fired rounds of eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the HSBC Champions tournament at Sheshan International Golf Club. This is the first

Thomas leads the way as Bulls get first win, hand Pistons first loss >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyrus Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading the Chicago Bulls to their first win of the season, 97-93, over the previously unbeaten Detroit Pistons. The win for the Bulls came despite a

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.