Parkhurst takes home Defender of the Year honor

Soccer Betting Lines

11/05/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Monday that New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst has been selected as the 2007 Defender of the Year. The award is his second major award of the 2007 season and the fourth of his career. Last week, Parkhurst was awarded the MLS Fair Play Award.

The Defender of the Year was determined by equal voting from the media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers. Parkhurst was a finalist for the award with Houston's Eddie Robinson and Chivas USA's Claudio Suarez.

"I'm honored to be voted the league's defender of the year," Parkhurst said. "There are a lot of great defenders in this league so to be singled out is humbling. Both Claudio (Suarez) and Eddie (Robinson) had excellent years and were big components of their teams' success."

"Any defensive award is also a testament to the whole team, so my teammates - from the back to the front - are a big part of this honor," Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst, 23, a native of Cranston, R.I., and former Wake Forest University Demon Deacon, appeared as a First XI selection to the 2007 MLS All-Star team where the MLS All-Stars defeated Celtic FC 2-0 on July 19. He played in and started 25 games at central defender for the Revolution, who finished in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-8-8 record.

Parkhurst missed the first three games of the season recovering from a preseason shoulder injury, but came back to anchor a defense that recorded 10 shutouts, and two more in their first two games of the MLS Cup Playoffs. His fine form since joining the league has also led to his inclusion as a member of the U.S. Men's National Team. He represented the United States in their victorious run in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Previously, Parkhurst was the 2005 winner of the Rookie of the Year award, a two-time MLS All-Star and the 2006 U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year.

Parkhurst and the Revolution return to action on Thursday when they play in their MLS-record sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Championship. The Revs will host the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium.

Starlcuk Soccer Betting News

<< Champ Car announces 2008 racing schedule
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champ Car announced a 14-race schedule for 2008 beginning in Long Beach, CA and ending in Mexico City, Mexico. There will be eight permanent road circuits and six temporary circuits The series added a r

<< Ueda enters top 20 with win in Japan
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Momoko Ueda's two-stroke win at the Mizuno Classic on Sunday helped her jump six places to No. 15 in the latest world rankings. Lorena Ochoa remained No. 1, while former No. 1 Annika Sorenstam moved

<< Rose climbs to seventh in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose won for the second time in 2007 on Sunday and in doing so claimed the top spot on the European Tour's Order of Merit and also jumped five places to seventh in the world rankings. The to

<< Granger, McGrady earn Player of the Week honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger and Houston Rockets guard/forward Tracy McGrady were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played through Novembe

<< This Week in Golf - November 8th through November 11th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - EUROPEAN TOUR - HSBC CHAMPIONS, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China - The European Tour wastes no time in jumping from the 2007 schedule to the 2008 schedul

Carr suffers concussion in Panthers loss >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina Panthers quarterback David Carr suffered a concussion in the team's 20-7 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, head coach John Fox said Monday. At his press conference, Fox also said Ca

Lemon remains Dolphins' starting QB >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron said Cleo Lemon will remain his starting quarterback for this Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. There had been speculation during the bye week that second-round

Northern Iowa firms up hold on No. 1 ranking >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northern Iowa tightened its hold on the top spot in the Sportsbook Betting Lines FCS Top-25 poll when the new results were announced on Monday. The Panthers (9-0) received 61 of the 112 first-place votes ca

Johnson wins Comeback Player of Year >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Monday that Kansas City Wizards forward Eddie Johnson has been named 2007 Comeback Player of the Year. After a 2006 season in which Johnson scored two goals and recorde

FCS players of the week awarded to Edwards, Crockett, Gray and Igono >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards, Fordham linebacker James Crockett, Morehead State defensive back Brian Gray and Northern Arizona special teams performer Cyrus Igono were selected Monday as nat

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.