Braun's early goal helps Chivas edge D.C. United

Soccer Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Braun scored his eighth goal of the year in the 13th minute and Chivas USA edged D.C. United, 1-0, on Sunday night in Major League Soccer at The Home Depot Center.

Zach Thornton made four saves for his fourth shutout of the season, as Chivas (6-11-4) snapped a three-game winless skid.

D.C. (4-15-3) lost for the sixth time in its last seven matches, and failed to score for the 14th time this season in 22 league matches.

United veteran Jaime Moreno had the first chance of the match after he took a pass from Santino Quaranta, cut around a defender in the area and then forced a save from Thornton.

Chivas turned its first chance into the opener, as Ante Jazic delivered a pass from the left wing to Braun at the top of the area. Braun, who ran in from the right wing, held off United defender Barry Rice and flicked a header over D.C. goalie Troy Perkins and just under the crossbar from 16 yards.

D.C. designated player Branko Boskovic nearly scored his first goal as United searched for the equalizer, but his shot swerved just a few feet away from the upper-left corner in the 22nd minute.

Braun set up the next scoring chance for Chivas USA in the 27th, but Giancarlo Maldonado turned a header wide left from 10 yards.

Chivas had another chance to double its lead a few minutes later when Rice was unable to control the ball just outside the area. Braun took advantage of the mistake to gain possession, but hurried a 22-yard shot and missed high.

United came within inches twice - on the same play - of tying the match before halftime. Quaranta hit a dipping 25-yard blast off the bar that then deflected off the lower leg of Thornton and inches wide of the right post.

Dejan Jakovic forced Thornton to make a save just before half off a header but Chivas survived the late chances to take the one-goal lead into the break.

After a slow start to the second half, D.C. substitute Andy Najar had a solid chance after a long run down the left, but Thornton made an easy save.

United came close to tying the match near the 70-minute mark when Moreno had a header cleared off the line by Chivas defender Mariano Trujillo.

Braun could have put the match away for Chivas USA in the 74th, but after Alan Gordon put him into space, Braun fired high from outside the area.

Chivas USA held on over the last 15 minutes of normal time and four minutes of stoppage time, as it moved within one point of climbing out of last in the Western Conference.

United has the worst record in MLS and trails the expansion Philadelphia Union by five points at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

D.C. plays Columbus in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Wednesday, then battles the Crew in league play Saturday. Chivas plays Seattle Sounders FC in the Open Cup on Wednesday, then plays the Colorado Rapids in MLS on Saturday.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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