Eagles TE Smith inactive vs. Vikings
Football Betting Lines
01/04/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eagles tight end L.J. Smith is inactive for Philadelphia's wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings due to a shoulder injury.
Smith was limited in practice this week and listed as questionable coming into Sunday.
Cornerback Asante Samuel (hip), running back Brian Westbrook (knee, ankle) and offensive tackle Jon Runyan (knee) were also listed as questionable, with all having missed parts of practice this week, but all are active for the contest.
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is seriously considering handing David Beckham an immediate debut when Serie A resumes on Jan. 11. Beckham has joined the Rossoneri on loan from Major League Soccer side,
<< Jamison, Wizards sink Cavs
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antawn Jamison recorded 26 points and 13
rebounds, and nailed the go-ahead jumper with 10.5 seconds to play as the host
Washington Wizards held off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 80-77, at Verizon Center.
The
<< Vikings DT Pat Williams out vs. Eagles
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Pat
Williams is inactive for the team's wild card playoff game against the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Williams missed the last two games of the regular season wit
<< Dwyer sent back to Albany
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after being recalled, the Carolina
Hurricanes reassigned forward Patrick Dwyer to the Albany River Rats of the
American Hockey League, it was announced on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Dwyer has pl
<< Giroux headed down to Hershey
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals assigned forward
Alexandre Giroux to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.
The 27-year-old Giroux played in 11 games for Washington this season,
recording one
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Markov tallied the lone shootout goal, and the Montreal Canadiens topped the Florida Panthers, 6-5, at Bell Centre. After the first five shooters were all stopped, the newly-named All-Star starte
Collison leads UCLA past Oregon >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Collison scored 22 points and had nine
assists to lead the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins over the host Oregon Ducks, 83-74,
Sunday at McArthur Court.
Josh Shipp was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and scored 1
Real tops Villarreal on Robben's winner >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjen Robben scored the lone goal Sunday as
defending La Liga champions Real Madrid topped Villarreal 1-0.
Madrid has now won three of four in all competitions to climb into the top
four of the league t
Pistons escape LA with 12th straight win over Clippers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rodney Stuckey continued to shine for the
shorthanded Pistons, scoring 24 points, as Detroit narrowly edged the
Clippers, 88-87, at Staples Center.
Tayshaun Prince provided 20 points and seven
Calgary recalls Lundmark from Quad City >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames recalled forward Jamie
Lundmark from the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League, it was
announced on Sunday.
After 35 games with the Quad City Flames this season, Lundmar
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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