Ruiz snuffs Fire with stoppage time equalizer

Soccer Betting Lines

09/20/2007 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hispanic stars were on display Thursday night when the Chicago Fire traveled to Frisco to take on FC Dallas in a Major League Soccer match.

The Hoops featured the likes of Brazilian Denilson, Colombian Juan Toja and Guatemalan Carlos Ruiz while the Fire featured Mexican Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Costa Rican Paulo Wanchope, but it was a couple of Americans that had the biggest impact for over 90 minutes of the match.

Fire forward turned midfielder Chris Rolfe created numerous offensive chances before scoring an impressive goal in the 56th minute while old warhorse defender Chris Armas was instrumental in shutting down the high-powered Hoops attack from his defensive midfield role for much of the game.

But in the end, it was one of the Hispanic stars that stole the show when former MLS MVP Ruiz scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute to steal a share of the points from the Fire in a 1-1 contest.

The loss of the two points is heartbreaking for the Fire (8-10-7), who are struggling to get into the MLS Cup playoffs. They are in the eighth and final spot by just two points over the Colorado Rapids with the same number of games played ahead of a match against league-leaders D.C. United on Sunday. Colorado plays at Real Salt Lake - which is second to last in the league - Saturday.

The game started with the Hoops pressuring the Fire behind the strong play of Denilson. In his third game since signing with the club as a designated player, the team seemed to be trying to funnel its offense through him while having Toja drop into a more defensive role in the midfield.

The Fire didn't have a legitimate chance until Wanchope got behind the defense in the 13th minute, but defender Clarence Goodson got back to deny a shot or a pass to a wide open Chad Barrett at the top of the six-yard box.

In 17th minute, Ruiz capped off a Dallas buildup with a shot over the goal. The play started with Chris Gbandi at left back and ended with a Denilson dummy in the box to give Ruiz a clear shot that he put well over the goal from about 15 yards.

Arturo Alvarez showed his skill in the 19th minute when he cut between two Fire defenders before firing a shot from about 15 yards on Matt Pickens, but the Chicago goalkeeper did well to punch the ball away as Abe Thompson was charging for the rebound.

Rolfe had his best chance of the first half when he took control of the ball from about 25 yards out at the top of the box, turned inside and fired a hard shot with his left foot. Hoops goalkeeper Dario Sala did well to dive to his right to knock away the shot with his right hand while at full extension. The ball deflected off Sala then hit the crossbar and was cleared by the defense.

Ten minutes after the break, Chicago had another quality chance when Bruno Menezes fired a hard shot from the top of the box after a failed clearance attempt on a corner kick. Sala, who made four saves in the game, again stopped the shot while at full extension to keep the game scoreless.

Less than a minute later, however, Rolfe was able to score his fifth goal of the season and first since May 12 after suffering a severe ankle injury early in the season. The Ohio native took control of the ball on the left flank, cut inside, took two touches and unleashed a rocket with his right foot that found the far post side netting from about 35-yards out.

The Fire went into a defensive shell about 10 minutes later, bringing in the likes of Bakary Soumare and Diego Gutierrez to play in the middle with Armas to try to close out the game.

The strategy seemed like it was going to work until Ruiz scored his seventh goal of the season and third in the past two games to tie at one.

After a ball from the defensive third was skipped at the top of the box by Goodson - who was pushing up from his defensive position - to Ruiz at the top of the area, he cooly took a ouch around a charging Pickens and past the defense before firing a shot into the back of the net.

The goal was Ruiz's second stoppage time equalizer of the season after doing the same thing in a 2-2 tie at Real Salt Lake in the opening weekend of the season.

Dallas (12-9-4) will be back in action Sunday at Los Angeles while the Fire host D.C. the same day.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.