After statement win, Revs head to Seattle

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06/04/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution snapped a seven game winless streak in their last Major League Soccer fixture, and they are hoping it is something to build on against the Seattle Sounders FC in their next one.

"This is huge for us," Revs defender Pat Phelan said after his club's 3-2 win over Red Bull New York last weekend. "We're going to look at this as a turning point in our season. We played much better than we have in the past few games. We gave [New York] some soft goals, but on the whole, I think it was a much better performance and its always nice to end a streak like that at home."

New England will be gunning for a positive result on Saturday, because it is its last game before the extended World Cup break.

"You don't want to go on a break with a loss," Phelan said. "It's a tough place to play, although I don't think we've ever lost to Seattle, only two games, but still. They're a team that's struggling, too, a bit like New York was, a bit like we were. They're a dangerous team, but I think it's definitely possible for us to go out there and get a result."

When the Revs travel to Seattle on Saturday, they will be facing a Sounders club that is trying to get out of its own funk. The second-year MLS club has just one win in its last seven league fixtures, including consecutive losses in its last two.

"I think all the boys were fighting real hard but the way that level of the game was allowed to play there was little chances," Sounders FC midfielder Freddie Ljungberg told mlssoccer.com. after his team's most recent setback, a 1-0 loss at Colorado. "It was typical but very difficult and disappointing."

The Sounders, who are currently second-from-the-bottom in the Western table, know they need to start picking up points fast if they want to be in the playoff picture at the end of the season.

"It is never too early to think about our points so far," Sounders coach Sigi Schmidt told mlssoccer.com. "Points are worth the same now as it is in the end. It has been frustrating because I don't think we have walked off the field being an outplayed team. We just have to keep working and keep our belief in ourselves."

Seattle will be without forward Nate Jaqua, midfielder Michael Fucito, and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, while midfielders Osvaldo Alonso and Peter Vagenas are doubtful, all with injuries.

The Revs will be without defender Darrius Barnes, goalkeeper Preston Burpo and forward Taylor Twellman, while goalkeeper Matt Reis is doubtful, and midfielders Nico Colaluca and Mike Videira, forward Kheli Dube, and defender Cory Gibbs are questionable.Defenders Kevin Alston and Emmanuel Osei are expected to be available.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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