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08/28/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brown rushed for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as Detroit rallied past Cleveland, 35-27, in preseason action from Ford Field.
Matt Stafford played three quarters and went 13-of-17 for 141 yards and one score for the Lions, who have won two of three exhibition matches.
Kevin Smith also rushed for a touchdown, while Calvin Johnson led the receiving corps with 42 yards on a pair of catches. Bryant Johnson recorded a seven-yard TD reception and Chris Houston returned a fumble 14 yards for another score.
Jake Delhomme played the first half and went 20-of-25 for 152 yards and one touchdown for the Browns, who fell to 1-2 in the preseason.
Peyton Hillis posted 26 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries, Josh Cribbs had three catches for 47 yards and Lawrence Vickers posted a TD reception in defeat.
Eric Wright recorded a 44-yard fumble return for a score and Phil Dawson hit both of his field-goal attempts.
The Browns lost defensive back Nick Sorensen to an unknown injury in the second quarter. He had to be removed from the field on a stretcher with a backboard after a pair of Lions hit him during kickoff coverage. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
<< Ambrose edges Villeneuve for Nationwide pole at Montreal
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose outran Canadian Jacques
Villeneuve in the closing minutes of qualifying to take the pole for Sunday's
NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Ambrose,
<< 49ers NT Franklin signs tender
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers announced Saturday nose
tackle Aubrayo Franklin has signed his franchise tender.
A number of sources have placed the tender's value at close to $7 million for
the eighth-year pro.
Fr
<< Red Sox activate Okajima from DL
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated pitcher Hideki
Okajima from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday.
Okajima had been out since August 6 with a right hamstring strain. Before the
setback, he was 4-3 with a
<< Toulouse continues perfect with win over Nancy
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Ligue 1 leaders Toulouse continued its
perfect start to the 2010-11 season with a 2-0 win over Nancy on Saturday.
Midfielders Etienne Capoue and Franck Tabanou scored second-half goals to lead
Toulouse
Stakhovsky comes back to take New Haven title >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergiy Stakhovsky bested Denis Istomin in the
finale of the $750,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event to capture his fourth career ATP
Tour title.
Stakhovsky, seeded ninth, rebounded from a first-set loss to take a 3-
RSL, TFC share points at BMO >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC battled to a
scoreless draw in Major League Soccer action at BMO Field on Saturday night.
With the draw, RSL (11-4-7) is unbeaten in six league fixtures, while
improv
Bengals CB Ghee leaves game >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengals rookie cornerback Brandon Ghee
was carted off the field during Saturday's preseason tilt with the Buffalo
Bills with an undisclosed injury.
Ghee, the team's third-round draft choice this
Henry's first MLS goal helps N.Y. beat San Jose >>
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.
Rich
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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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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