Goats aiming to not follow in United's footsteps

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11/03/2007 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The West's top seed, Chivas USA, is in a similar position to the East's top seed, D.C. United, heading into the second leg of its conference semifinal series.

Chivas, like United, trails after the away leg of the home-and-home total goals series after its top two strikers missed the first leg with injuries.

Unlike United, which earned a 2-2 draw with Chicago Thursday in it's second leg to lose it's series 3-2, the Goats still have a chance at advancing if things go their way Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.

Also unlike United, which got its main attackers, Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno, back for the second leg, Chivas USA will probably be without both of its main men - Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo - again.

"He's making progress, but not this weekend for sure," Chivas USA coach Preki said about the prospects of Razov playing with his a knee injury.

Galindo, who probably will need sports hernia surgery when the season is over, will be a game-time decision.

"It just got to the point where it got to be a chronic pain," Galindo said. "After the Houston game (in the regular season finale), I was in great pain afterward. That's why I wasn't able to play at all last week. Hopefully with some rest this week and some treatment I'll be able to play on Saturday."

Missing those two players while playing catchup in the series will be tough considering they scored 23 the club's conference-leading 46 goals.

But the Goats have been nearly perfect at home this season, going 10-1-4 while outscoring opponents by 20 goals, meaning even without its biggest guns, it has a chance at hunting down the Wizards.

Currently, Davy Arnaud's 35th minute goal in the first leg is the difference in the series.

Kansas City is confident, coming off back-to-back shutouts with a defense that has been suspect for most of the season.

"We were talking throughout the course of the year about how many goals we were leaking," the Wizards' Kerry Zavagnin said after the first leg win. "We really showed tonight that we have the capability to shut teams out, and we've known that for a while."

Despite the resurgent defense, the Wizards don't plan on packing it in and hoping to escape with a scoreless draw to advance, however.

"We're not going to sit back and just defend," K.C. coach Curt Onalfo said. "We're going to try and take the game to them, and see if we can't get an early goal and move on from there."

The winner of Saturday night's contest will face Houston in the Western Final on Nov. 10. If Chivas USA wins, it will host while the Wizards will travel to Houston if they advance.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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