05/20/2008 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas fired coach Steve Morrow on Tuesday, two days after the Major League Soccer club was humiliated in a 5-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The loss extended Dallas' winless streak to four games and dropped the team's record to 2-3-3 this season. Dallas is fourth in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.
Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as an assistant coach, will lead the team on an interim basis.
"I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time," Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock said.
Morrow was named the club's fourth coach in December 2006. In his first season as head coach, Dallas posted a 13-12-5 record and finished in third place in the Western Conference.
The team advanced to the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game for the third time in team history, falling 3-2 to the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park.
FC Dallas advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record tying 10th time in history, though it was eliminated in the conference semifinals by eventual MLS Cup Champions Houston Dynamo.
Dallas was unbeaten in its first four games this year, including a pair of 2-0 wins over Red Bull New York and Chivas USA and a 3-3 tie with Houston. But the club has lost three of its last four and had just two goals during its current four-game skid.
Dallas is still just three points out of first in the Western Conference.
"I fully accept responsibility and, if the team needs to go in a different direction, then I wish the players nothing but great success for the remainder of the season and beyond," Morrow said.
A Northern Ireland native, Morrow played the final two years of his pro career with Dallas. In 2002 and 2003, he had three goals in 41 regular season matches and also scored once in three playoff games, playing primarily as a defender.
He was hired as one of the team's assistant coaches in 2004, and was the first assistant coach during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Ferruzzi will make his debut against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.
<< This Week in Auto Racing May 22 - May 25
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This is the week that all racing fans have
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It starts early on Sunday with the historic Grand Prix of Monaco, then returns
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<< Spirit of St. Louis: Pujols flying high for Cards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's business as usual this season for St. Louis Cardinals
All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols.
Pujols, a model of consistency his entire career, is marking up the stat
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Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Slovenian Katarina
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Evansville, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Bouchie, a 6-foot-10 245-pound
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Bouchie played all 36 games in his
Ljubicic, Querrey advance at wet Hypo Group event >>
Portschach, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic and
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Super Bowl XLVI awarded to Indianapolis >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has awarded Super Bowl XLVI to
Indianapolis, which will open a new stadium for the Colts this August.
Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis is expected to seat about 73,000
for a Super
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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