Columbus downs New York to extend lead in East

Soccer Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emilio Renteria and Brian Carroll scored and the Columbus Crew bounced back from a mid-week loss to beat Red Bull New York, 2-0, on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.

Renteria scored in the 20th minute and Carroll scored in the 48th, as the Crew snapped the Red Bulls' five-match unbeaten streak and opened a five-point lead in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.

Columbus (9-3-4) was upset by the Kansas City Wizards, 1-0, at home Wednesday, but returned to form in a game featuring the top two teams in the East for its seventh win in nine MLS home matches.

New York (8-6-2) was without recent addition Thierry Henry, who attended the match but was not on the roster. Henry is expected to debut on Thursday in an exhibition against English club Tottenham.

Columbus dominated nearly the entire match and the Crew turned a turnover from New York's Juan Pablo Angel into the opener in the 20th minute.

Adam Moffat took the ball from Angel near midfield, then passed to Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Schelotto turned and, from the edge of the midfield circle, slid a through ball between two New York defenders to Renteria.

Renteria took the ball just inside the area and then fired off the fingertips of Red Bulls goalie Bouna Coundoul for his third goal of the season.

New York responded with its first shot four minutes later, but Columbus goalie William Hesmer turned Dane Richards' hard shot from 12 yards around the right post.

Renteria nearly put the Crew in front by two goals, as another turnover helped him get in alone on Coundoul again. Renteria finished well to the bottom left, but the 28th-minute effort was called back for offsides.

New York finished the half with shots on goal from Seth Stammler and Tim Ream, but Hesmer easily saved both. Emmanuel Ekpo ended the half with another one- on-one chance against Coundoul for Columbus, but the New York goalie made his third save of the opening 45 minutes.

New York coach Hans Backe made two changes at halftime, but Columbus was still in control of the match early after the break and doubled its lead within five minutes.

Carroll ran onto a busted free kick just outside the area and struck a curving ball through traffic, off the fingertips of Coundoul and inside the right post in the 48th minute for his first goal of the season.

Renteria put an open header from seven yards well over the bar in the 66th off a cross from Shaun Francis, as Columbus wasted a chance to seal its ninth win.

Ekpo nearly created the third goal in the 75th when he challenged for a cross, but after a collision with Coundoul, the ball rolled wide of the right post.

Columbus' near perfect performance ended with captain Frankie Hejduk being red carded in the 89th minute. He kicked New York's Carl Robinson to get the card, and will miss the Crew's next match against the Houston Dynamo on July 24.

Hesmer made one last save with Columbus down to 10 men and finished with five for his seventh shutout of the year.

New York returns to MLS play July 31 at the Houston Dynamo, when Henry should make his league debut.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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