De Rosario setting bar high for young MLS talent

Soccer Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a penchant for highlight-reel goals and one of the most unique goal celebrations in the game, it's quite easy to see why Dwayne De Rosario has become such a household name in Major League Soccer. The Canadian's transformation into one of the league's best players, however, did have some winding turns along the path that has been his career.

At 19, De Rosario began his professional career playing for the Toronto Lynx in the A-League where his strong performances made club teams overseas take notice. After seeing limited time with German outfit FSV Zwickau, a return to North America was in the cards, one that would prove fruitful to both De Rosario and the MLS.

The sleek-footed winger began his time in the MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001 and made his mark in his very first season capturing MLS Cup MVP honors thanks to a game-winning goal in the MLS final. De Rosario blossomed in San Jose over the next few seasons, despite missing a large part of the 2003 campaign with a torn ACL.

In 2004, a fully recovered De Rosario led the Earthquakes to a second MLS Cup victory along with winning the Goal of the Year Award. While his championship accolades are impressive to behold, perhaps his biggest impact has come outside club play.

With the MLS desperately hoping to broaden its appeal, the concept of the all- star game pitting the best the MLS has to offer against a first division club from one of the major leagues began to take shape. While English side Fulham was a competent opponent in 2005, the true opportunity for MLS players to send a message on the world stage came in 2006.

Toyota Park in Chicago hosted the match-up between English League Champion Chelsea and the best the MLS had to offer. The game was fiercely contested, with De Rosario coming through in the 70th minute with a blistering shot that would prove the difference in the 1-0 encounter. The result was stunning and sent shockwaves throughout the soccer world - but for De Rosario, it was just another notch on the belt of one of the great clutch performers in MLS history.

De Rosario would prove the difference in the 2008 version as well, scoring the winning goal against English opponents West Ham United at BMO Field in Toronto. Coincidentally, the Dynamo star was shipped off to his hometown team, the Toronto FC later on that year.

The impact that De Rosario has had on the sport in Canada cannot be overlooked. His performances for both the Canadian National team and Toronto FC have been remarkable, with his flamboyance often coming to the forefront. With the ability to shoot accurately from long range along with above average technical ability, the Canadian star has become both the face of soccer in his country and the FC.

While his achievements at the national team level with Canada are scarce, the ability of De Rosario has never been questioned and he along with fellow Toronto FC member Julian De Guzman are usually the lone bright spots on a team that lacks cohesion and top-level talent at several positions. With the 2000 Gold Cup triumph being Canada's last major tournament win internationally, De Rosario is unlikely to win any such accolades with the current crop of Canadian team members, and will thus go his entire career without leading any team accomplishments at the international level.

However, the three-time Canadian player of the year has set the bar high both for incoming MLS players and those in the youth ranks trying to live up to his standards. At age 32, he has very little left to achieve at the club level but in a city starved for a winning franchise, the possibility of De Rosario leading the Toronto FC to a MLS championship would be a fitting end to a career already full of highlights.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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