Henry's first MLS goal helps N.Y. beat San Jose

Soccer Betting Lines

08/28/2010 - Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thierry Henry scored his first goal in Major League Soccer and Dane Richards had a goal and an assist, leading Red Bull New York to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.

Richards scored the opener in first-half stoppage time, then assisted as Henry scored his first goal since joining New York in July. Henry had two assists in his MLS debut on July 31, but failed to score in his first five matches.

After missing a few chances throughout the game, including hitting the post in the first half, Henry finally ended his scoring drought when he settled a pass from Richards and fired into the right side of the net from eight yards out.

New York (11-7-4) improved to 3-1-2 since Henry joined the club, and closed to within four points of Columbus for first place in Eastern Conference. The Crew tied FC Dallas, 0-0, on Saturday.

San Jose (8-7-5), which shut out the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 last week, had its two-game winning streak snapped.

San Jose had a chance to take control of the match early when top scorer Chris Wondolowski ran onto a rebound, but N.Y. goalie Bouna Coundoul pushed the 12- yard shot off target.

Henry had a similar chance in the 12th when a rebound fell to him in the area, but San Jose defender Tim Ward cleared the 10-yard shot off the line.

Henry turned provider a few minutes later when he put Juan Pablo Angel through on the left side of the area, but the Red Bulls' leading scorer failed to find the net from a tight angle as S.J. goalie Jon Busch made the stop.

Angel returned the favor in the 21st, holding the ball on the left side of the area before finding Henry at the top of the area. Henry curled his shot around Busch, but it hit the right post as he again failed to net his first MLS goal.

Cornell Glen had San Jose's only other good first-half chance in the 25th off a pass from Wondolowski, but fired wide right off an open look from the left.

Marquez forced a save from Busch from the corner of the area late in the half, but New York got the opener minutes later in stoppage time from Richards.

Joel Lindpere played the ball down just outside the area to Richards, who took the ball through traffic, got a lucky deflection off San Jose's Bobby Burling, cut around Busch and rolled the ball into an empty net.

Henry just missed his first goal minutes into the second half when he flicked a ball on target with his back to the goal, but Busch dove to knock the chance down. Angel should have converted the rebound, but somehow hit the right post from just a few yards with the net open.

Henry created a scoring chance for himself four minutes later in the 53rd, as he lifted the ball off the ground to set up a turning shot that Busch touched over the bar.

Marquez unleashed a blast that bounced just wide of the left post as New York continued to pile on the pressure, but San Jose responded with two quick shots that could have easily tied the match.

Arturo Alvarez fired just over the bar in the 60th, and Glen missed wide left seconds later.

New York finally found its second goal a few minutes later, as Henry settled a cross from Richards and hammered in his first MLS goal. Richards hit a one-hop cross from the right that Henry settled near the penalty spot, then fired low past Busch to leave the Earthquakes goalie no chance.

Glen just missed trimming the deficit in half in the 66th, as he lifted a shot over the bar from close range. San Jose failed to put New York under pressure over the final 25 minutes, as Coundoul finished with two saves for his eighth shutout.

New York visits Real Salt Lake on Sept. 4 for its next MLS match, and San Jose visits the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 5.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.