Pontius hat trick leads United to 3-2 victory at Seattle

Soccer Betting Lines

06/11/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Entering Thursday night's Major League Soccer fixture, D.C. United attacker Chris Pontius had yet to score a goal in league play in 2010.

But a three-goal performance helped his team jump out to a 3-0 lead at Seattle Sounders FC, and they hung on for a 3-2 win despite giving up two stoppage time goals.

The victory, which was United's first on the road this season, pulled it out of the Eastern basement while stretching its unbeaten streak to three games.

Seattle (4-6-3), on the other hand, goes into the World Cup break losing three of its last four league fixtures, including two at home.

Pontius opened his account in the 39th minute when a long-range blast eluded goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Just five minutes later, Pontius scored his second of the half when he deked around a defender and fired a left-footed shot right at Keller. The ball deflected off the veteran goalkeeper's hands and trickled over the goal line for an uncharacteristic soft goal by the former U.S. international.

United (3-8-1) withstood a furious Seattle charge in the second half, capitalizing on its only chance to stretch its lead to 3-0 in the 79th minute.

Santino Quaranta launched a high, diagonal cross into the offensive third to Pontius, who headed across the grain to the right corner of the Seattle goal. The ball just trickled over the goal line, past Keller, for the 3-0 lead.

But Seattle got a 90th minute goal from James Riley, who's blast from the right side deflected off defender Barry Rice and in, past United goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

Less than a minute later Fredy Montero headed home a Freddie Ljungberg cross from the left side to cut the deficit to 3-2. But with time winding down, that was as close as the home side could get before the final whistle.

United will aim to carry the momentum from the road victory to Columbus on June 26, while Seattle travels to Philadelphia a day later for its next MLS fixture.

Footballfantasybetting Soccer Betting News

<< Betemit's two HRs lift Royals over Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Betemit hit two homers in a game for the first time in his career, as the Kansas City Royals held off the Minnesota Twins, 9-8, to avoid a three-game sweep at Target Field. Mitch Maier hit a two-ru

<< Boston's bench helps Celtics even NBA Finals
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Davis led a charge from Boston's bench in the fourth quarter and the Celtics downed the Los Angeles Lakers, 96-89, to even the NBA Finals after four games. Davis finished with 18 points, nine of which c

<< Branyan's clutch hit sends Indians over Red Sox
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Branyan's two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Cleveland Indians to an 8-7 win over the Boston Red Sox in the finale of a four-ga

<< Orioles' Arrieta wins debut against Yankees
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles selected the contract of Jake Arrieta from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, and the right-hander went on to win his major league debut against the Yankees. A fifth-round pick in 2007,

<< Rangers rout Mariners to win series
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Hamilton homered and finished with three RBI and two runs scored, as the Texas Rangers clobbered the Seattle Mariners, 12-3, in the finale of a four-game series. Michael Young also hit a home run and

NBA Finals notebook: Celtics bench is the difference in Game 4 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Fisher may have been the hero in Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Lakers but don't underestimate the contribution of the team's bench. LA's reserves combined to shoot 9-of-11 from the floor in that win, th

Eagles put Marlin Jackson on IR >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles put safety Marlin Jackson on injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg. Jackson, who signed a two-year contract with the club as a free agent in March,

Angels' Morales has surgery on fractured leg >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angels first baseman Kendry Morales underwent surgery Thursday to repair his fractured left leg and will be out the remainder of the season. Morales suffered the injury May 29 after clubbing the game-winning gr

Chicago celebrates Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win >>
CHICAGO (AP) -The forecast for Chicago calls for ticker tape.The city is celebrating the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup win since 1961 with a downtown parade Friday morning.The event is expected to draw thousands - if not hundreds of thousands - of p

USC hit hard by NCAA sanctions >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California was no ordinary football program over the past decade, winning seven straight Pac-10 titles and two national championships while annually fielding a gleaming array of NFL prospects.That's just one reason the Tr

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.