Ten-man Houston ties N.Y. to spoil Henry's debut

Soccer Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Mullan scored in the 90th minute as 10- man Houston tied Red Bull New York on Saturday, 2-2, to spoil Thierry Henry's two-assist debut in Major League Soccer.

Henry assisted on two goals for Juan Pablo Angel, who is second in MLS with 11 goals, but Brad Davis converted a penalty kick for the Dynamo and Mullan added the stunning game-tying goal in the closing seconds.

Angel scored in the 10th and 58th minutes, both times giving the Red Bulls the lead, but New York (8-6-3) failed to secure the win even with a man advantage for the entire second half at Robertson Stadium.

Houston (5-8-5) is winless in eight straight but avoided its fifth loss during the skid. The Dynamo, who had Lovel Palmer sent off just before halftime, have not won since May 22, a 2-0 win over D.C. United.

Houston should have opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, but after Palmer's initial effort was knocked down by Bulls goalie Bouna Coundoul, Adrian Serioux launched the rebound over an empty net.

Angel followed with his 10th goal of the season in the 10th minute, turning an assist from Henry into the opener. Henry played the ball into the box from the left end line and Angel settled with Eddie Robinson defending and easily found the left side of the net from just a few yards out.

The Dynamo tied the match in the 24th minute after Carlos Mendes fouled Joseph Ngwenya in the area. Davis hammered the penatly kick inside the right post for his third goal of the season.

Henry should have notched his first MLS goal in the 31st minute but the France star somehow failed to convert from six yards after a pass from Angel, despite having an open net in front of him.

Houston was awarded its second penalty in the 38th minute when Brian Ching was fouled in the area, but Davis launched his second penalty well over the bar.

Henry had another golden scoring chance before halftime but, after Angel put a perfect pass into open space, the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker slipped the shot wide right to waste a one-on-one against Houston goalie Tally Hall.

The half ended with Palmer receiving a red card for a harmless 50-50 challenge on Mendes, leaving the Dynamo short a man for the second half.

Danny Cruz started the second half with a great scoring chance for Houston but his 22-yard shot was tipped around the right post by Coundoul.

Henry found the target in the 54th, but Hall made an easy save to keep Houston level. Hall couldn't do anything four minutes later, when Angel added his 11th goal of the season.

Henry played Angel into the right side of the area, and Angel's shot deflected off a Houston player and sailed past Hall in the 58th to put New York in total control.

However, Houston played much better after falling behind and held off New York until the final minutes to set up Mullan's late equalizer.

Ching played the ball to Andrew Hainault on the right side, and Hainault swung a cross to the far side of the area to Mullan. Mullan jumped to head the ball and placed it perfectly inside the left post with just seconds left in normal time.

Houston, which was without starting goalkeeper Pat Onstad and defender Bobby Bowell, held on through five minutes of stoppage time to secure the draw.

Henry makes his next appearance in Chicago on Aug. 8 when New York visits the Fire. Houston will try to end its winless streak Aug. 8 when it visits Seattle Sounders FC.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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