Arena fills out MLS All-Star roster

Soccer Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - MLS commissioner Don Garber and MLS All-Star Team head coach Bruce Arena of the Los Angeles Galaxy made their selections to complete the 23-man 2010 MLS All-Star roster on Monday.

The MLS All-Stars will take on Manchester United in the 2010 MLS All-Star game on July 28 in Houston, with local favorites Brian Ching and Brad Davis of the Dynamo named among the reserves.

Ching and D.C. United striker Jaime Moreno were the two players named as commissioner's selections, while Arena picked the rest of the roster, which includes the following players:

Goalkeepers: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire) and Heath Pearce (FC Dallas).

Midfielders: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union), David Ferreira (FC Dallas), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution) and Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids).

Forward: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls).

That group will join the 2010 MLS All-Star First XI, which features the following players:

Goalkeeper: Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Defenders: Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake).

Midfielders: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew).

Forwards: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Nikkanspots Soccer Betting News

<< Cho named new Blazers general manager
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have named Rich Cho as the team's new general manager. No financial terms of the deal were announced. Cho had spent the past nine seasons as assistant GM of the Seattle

<< Zenyatta continues in first, Life At Ten enters NTRA Poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the 2010 thoroughbred racing season enters the heart of the summer programs, Zenyatta remains the leader in the NTRA National Poll for week 20. The top 10 features one new addition with five- year-ol

<< NL West: Injuries piling up in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Imagine the San Diego Padres trying to stay atop the NL West standings without Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley and Yorvit Torrealba. The Los Angeles Dodgers would certainly enjoy seeing that happen, but they're the one

<< Hurricanes sign C Nash
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have signed center Riley Nash to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will pay Nash $550,000 in 2010-11, $600,000 in 2011-12 and $700,000 in 2012-13 at the NHL level. H

<< Wrong year for Life At Ten to be so good
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the two leading thoroughbreds in training are also the top female racehorses in the country, it becomes difficult for any other filly or mare to get recognized. This is the situation that confronts fi

Miyazato replaces Kerr as women's No. 1 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato has replaced Cristie Kerr atop the world rankings for women's golf. The two players are just about tied, with Miyazato holding a lead of 0.0006 average points over Kerr. Kerr snatched t

Rays sign OF Baldelli to minor league deal >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays signed veteran outfielder Rocco Baldelli to a minor league contract on Monday and assigned him to Single-A Charlotte. The 28-year-old was taken with the sixth overall pick b

Galarraga rejoins Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have recalled pitcher Armando Galarraga from Triple-A Toledo. The right-hander was sent to the minor leagues on July 7 following his start the day before against Baltimore, when he

Olaru among winners in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania was among the first-round winners Monday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Olaru rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's Kathrin Woerle on the red

Bills sign third round draft pick Carrington >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills signed rookie defensive end Alex Carrington to a four-year contract on Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Carrington was selected in the third round, 72nd overall,

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.