Fire torch Toronto in Blanco's debut

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07/29/2007 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cuauhtemoc Blanco era with the Chicago Fire got off to a perfect start Sunday.

Blanco, a Mexican icon, had an assist in his Major League Soccer debut as the Fire snapped a six-game winless streak and won for just the second time in 13 games with an impressive 3-0 victory at Toronto FC.

Ivan Guerrero scored his first goal in more than two years, Calen Carr had a goal and an assist and substitute Floyd Franks also scored as Chicago earned Juan Carlos Osorio his first win as head coach.

"We played well in both ends of the field," Osorio said. "Toronto is a tough place to play. I'm very happy with the performance."

Chicago (5-8-4) pulled even with Toronto FC (5-9-4) in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand and both teams are just 11 points behind first-place New England.

"We are very close to everyone (in the standings)," Guerrero said. "We have to get better, we have to do it game to game."

Chicago took control of the match early, notching its first shot on goal just two minutes in and getting its first good scoring chance just four minutes in on a shot from Chad Barrett.

Barrett had another scoring chance denied by Toronto goalie David Monsalve in the 11th minute when his header was pushed over the bar.

Toronto FC had its best chance of the first half in the 17th minute when Danny Dichio put a header toward the upper right corner of the goal, forcing Chicago goalie Matt Pickens to make one of his three saves.

Chicago finally broke through in the 37th minute when Guerrero scored off a perfect assist from Blanco. The Mexican international made an accurate pass down the left side to a streaking Guerrero. The defender touched the ball two times as he moved into the box, then buried a shot inside the near post.

Guerrero, who hadn't scored in the regular season since June 29, 2005, smiled when told about his long scoring drought.

"We are very happy," he added. "It's a very important (win)."

The Fire nearly extended their lead late in the half when Barrett settled a pass in the box, turned and launched a shot into the upper left corner. But referee Jair Marrufo gave Barrett a yellow card for playing the ball with his hand - which Barrett argued - to erase the great finish.

Chicago still took a 1-0 edge into half, which was a good sign for the club. The Fire were 4-0-1 when leading at half this season while Toronto was 0-5-3.

The season-long trend held for both teams, but Chicago didn't sit on the one- goal cushion. The Fire added two more goals to score three goals in a game for just the second time this season. The last time Chicago scored three goals was also the last time it won - on June 3 against Columbus.

Carr put Chicago up 2-0 in the 58th minute with his second goal of the year. After the Fire controlled the ball in Toronto's end, a loose ball settled at Carr's feet just inside the box. He took a shot toward the left side of the net that deflected off a defender and into the right corner.

Toronto nearly got back into the game in the 64th minute when Todd Dunivant lofted a shot over Pickens, but Fire defender Dasan Robinson headed the ball off the line.

Carr continued to frustrate Toronto FC, getting another solid scoring chance midway through the second half. He took a short pass from Franks at the top of the box and had a hard shot deflect off Monsalve, the crossbar and the post.

Chicago finally put Toronto away in the 75th minute when Carr picked up his first assist of the year on the first goal this year for Franks. Carr had the ball on the right side of the box and crossed it in front of the goal where Franks just had to tap it inside the left post.

The Fire nearly added a fourth goal in the 82nd minute, but back-to-back shots were denied by Monsalve and a defender. Toronto followed with a counter attack that resulted in a shot from Joey Melo, but Pickens made the save to preserve his fifth shutout of the season.

"I think all the hard work paid off. We've had 12 (training) sessions since I've been around and we've demanded more of each player," said Osorio, who lost his MLS debut on July 12. "Our defense was excellent ... Offensively, we capitalized on our chances and could have scored more goals."

Monsalve, 18, was making his debut for Toronto. The Canadian under-20 national team player became the youngest goalie to start a game in league history. With Greg Sutton likely done for the year due to a concussion, Toronto is searching for a full-time goalie.

Toronto - which is winless in its last four games, has just one victory in its last seven and is 1-8-3 against the East - was without regular starters Jeff Cunningham, Ronnie O'Brien and Marvell Wynne. . Note: Guerrero had two goals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2005 against D.C. United.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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