09/05/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA topped Toronto FC 2-1 last week in Major League Soccer action, but when the two teams square off at BMO Field on Saturday, both will be facing extreme hardships.
Toronto will be missing nine starters because of international call-ups and Chivas USA has two called up as well as a host of injuries to deal with.
"I've had some challenges in my life, but I've never had anything like this," Carver said. "We have played games with six or seven players missing, like when we beat L.A. earlier this season, but this time Julius James and Marvell Wynne got call-ups and Jarrod Smith is also away with New Zealand.
"I've hardly been able to work with a consistent team all season because we keep losing players to internationals. To be honest, we played on Saturday with what was probably our strongest team of the season and we were dreadful, but there haven't been many times this season when I have been able to put my strongest team on the field."
TFC (7-10-5) will have just one first-team defender - Marco Velez - available and just five other players - Chad Barrett, Danny Dichio, Rohan Ricketts, Abdus Ibrahim and Kevin Harmse - who have seen significant minutes with the first team.
"This is what I consider a case of extreme hardship," Carver told the Toronto Sun. "Right now I'm calling around looking to get players on loan so I can fill out a game sheet."
The players missing because of international duty are goalkeeper Greg Sutton, defenders Jim Brennan, James and Wynne, midfielders Amado Guevara, Tyrone Marshall, Smith and Carl Robinson, and forward Carlos Ruiz. On top of that, defenders Todd Dunivant and Nana Attakora-Gyan are out with injuries.
Goalkeeper Brian Edwards will get his sixth start of the season with Sutton away.
"We will have a lot of new faces in defense and some of the guys who will be playing there don't even play at the back in practice, so we have a huge task in front of us," Edwards said. "We are all working toward the same thing and if we can work hard in training this week to get to be a collective unit, I'm sure we can put on a good performance and surprise some people."
Chivas USA (7-9-6) will have little sympathy for its opponent on Saturday, however, as it is dealing with injury concerns of its own - which it has been all season.
The Goats will be without midfielders Jesse Marsch and Raphael Wicky, and defenders Claudio Suarez, Carey Talley and Alex Zotinca. Forward Maykel Galindo is also listed as questionable. Also, midfielders Sacha Kljestan and Shavar Thomas are on international duty and forward Atiba Harris is out because of yellow card accumulation.
With the win last week, Chivas USA was able to climb to third in the Western table while Toronto is still stuck in a last-place tie with Kansas City in the East.
<< Bayern's Ribery returns to full training
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery returned
to full training Friday and is expected to make his first appearance of the
season later this month.
The 25-year-old France international has been sidelin
<< Stuttgart's Basturk injures thigh
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart midfielder Yildiray Basturk
could miss the UEFA Cup clash against Bulgarian side Cherno More after
suffering a thigh injury in training.
The Bundesliga side are unsure how long
<< USA extends lead in women's rankings
Nyon, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The USA used its unlikely win in the 2008
Summer Olympics to extend its lead over Germany atop the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola
Women's World Rankings.
The Germans, who won the 2007 Women's World Cup, fell an a
<< Optimistic Chargers Kick Off With Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paper champions.
Whether the San Diego Chargers are aware of it or not, or whether they like it
or not, they enter the 2008 NFL season with that designation securely affixed
to everything they strive to accomplish.
Thou
Precious points on line as Fire host Red Bulls >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire
renew their Eastern Conference rivalry in Major League Soccer action on
Saturday at Toyota Park.
A lot has changed for both teams since the Fire went to
'Quakes aim to continue surge vs. shorthanded United >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The expansion San Jose Earthquakes continue
their quest for a playoff spot in their return season to Major League Soccer
when they host D.C. United at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday night.
The 'Quakes
White Sox OF Quentin out two-to-three weeks, possibly longer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin
will undergo surgery on his fractured right wrist on Monday that will sideline
him for at least two-to-three weeks.
The surgery will take place at Rush Unive
Van Nistelrooy: Madrid will be fine without Robinho >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ruud van Nistelrooy has rubbished claims that
a lack of fellow strikers will lead to problems for Real Madrid this season.
The Spanish champions have allowed Julio Baptista and Robinho to leave the
Bern
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
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."
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