Ckippers Basketball Betting News

<< UConn topples Georgetown to lock up Big East title
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles poured in a season-high 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, as top-ranked Connecticut ran its winning streak to 68 games with an 84-62 victory over No. 13 Georgetown at the XL Center. Kalana Gre

<< No. 19 Tennessee gets best of No. 2 Kentucky
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Prince scored six of his 20 points down the stretch, as 19th-ranked Tennessee upended No. 2 Kentucky, 74-65, at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers (21-7, 9-5 SEC) built a 19-point lead early i

<< Notre Dame sinks slumping Hoyas in DC
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Hansbrough scored 21 points and Tim Abromaitis added 19, as Notre Dame beat its second ranked opponent this week with a 78-64 victory over No. 11 Georgetown at the Verizon Center. Carleton Scott

<< Bellamy, Tevez tame Chelsea
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez scored two goals apiece as Manchester City downed Chelsea, 4-2, at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Frank Lampard put Chelsea ahead in the 42nd minute, but Tevez had his

Vandy downs Arkansas, closes in on Kentucky >>
Fayetteville, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeffery Taylor scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to help 16th-ranked Vanderbilt beat Arkansas, 89-72, at Bud Walton Arena. A.J. Ogilvy had 14 points and six boards for the Commodores (22-

Santa Anita forced to reschedule another Derby prep >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Santa Anita Park once again was forced to cancel a Saturday racing program due to excessive rain. The track's February 27 card, featuring the Sham Stakes, was sent down the toilet because of heavy overnig

Catania eases relegation worries >>
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Catania gained a bit of breathing room in their relegation battle on Saturday as they recorded a 4-0 win over Bari at the Angelo Massimino. The home side entered the weekend only one point above the

Aggies too much for Texas in Lone Star State Showdown >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donald Sloan had 19 points as 22nd- ranked Texas A&M took down No. 21 Texas, 74-58, in the Lone Star State Showdown. David Loubeau added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Ray Turner

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Football Betting

The 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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