U.S. searching for right mix against Dutch

Soccer Betting Lines

03/02/2010 - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. coach Bob Bradley assembled the majority of his best players for Wednesday's match at the Netherlands, and the last few spots on the World Cup roster could be decided at Amsterdam ArenA.

The Americans snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 2-1 win over El Salvador, but the score isn't the most important aspect of the game against the Dutch for Bradley.

Bradley left injured trio Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu off the roster and the potential holes those three could leave open if not healthy in time for the World Cup are Bradley's biggest concerns.

"There's always pressure on the coach," Bradley said.

Although the U.S. roster features 16 European-based players, three MLS players - Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce and Robbie Findley - could benefit the most with strong performances.

Bornstein of Chivas USA and Pearce of FC Dallas are both in competition for a role on defense, where left back would be open if captain Carlos Bocanegra has to move into the middle to replace Onyewu.

Real Salt Lake forward Findley could find a role if Davies is not able to come back from a car accident that left the emerging star with multiple injuries.

Dempsey avoided surgery on a knee injury and is the most likely of the trio to feature in the World Cup, but Onyweu is a longshot to return from knee surgery and Davies - although he is making huge strides in recovery - needs a miracle.

Bradley is confident the U.S. will put together a team capable of competing in South Africa, whether he has all - or none - of the injured players back.

"We're confident that we're going to get a really strong group, a group that will have a great mentality and a group that's going to go and give it all a great shot," Bradley said.

The Dutch, ranked third in the world, are usually overlooked as contenders due to their recent World Cup struggles. The Netherlands advanced to the final in 1974 and 1978, but its best finish since was fourth in 1998.

Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder highlight one of the most exciting offenses in the world, but the Oranje have not scored a goal in three straight matches.

The Dutch will give Bradley exactly what the U.S. needs, though, and that's a test for his best players, and a way to separate the final contenders for the remaining roster spots for the Cup.

Following is the complete U.S. roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Tim Howard (Everton).

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Monchengladbach), Landon Donovan (Everton), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jose Torres (Pachuca).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki).

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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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