Fliridamarlins NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Beltre has surgery
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre underwent surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder. Beltre, who was also put on the 15-day disabled list, had the procedure performed by

<< Stars re-sign Lehtinen to one-year deal
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars announced Tuesday that they have re-signed right wing Jere Lehtinen to a one-year contract for the 2009-10 season. The deal includes a $1.5 million base salary, and as much as $1 million m

<< Diamondbacks activate Tracy
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks activated first baseman Chad Tracy from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. Tracy sustained an oblique strain in a game against the Braves on May 29. The veteran went 3-for-4

<< Bruins buy out Schaefer
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that they have bought out the final year of forward Peter Schaefer's contract. Schaefer, 31, did not see the ice in Boston last season, spending the entire campaign in Pr

Suns exercise option on Amundson >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns exercised the second-year team option on the contract of forward Louis Amundson. Signed by the Suns last August, Amundson saw action in a career-high 76 games last season and averaged 4.2 poin

Boozer, Okur to remain with Jazz >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Carlos Boozer and center Mehmet Okur both announced they will remain with the Utah Jazz for the 2009-10 campaign. Boozer announced he will exercise his player option and remain with the

Flames sign Bouwmeester to multi-year contract >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames' gamble paid dividends on Tuesday, as the club signed defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a multi-year contract just hours prior to the start of the NHL free agency period. Over the wee

Pirates blank Cubs, complete rare winning mark in June >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez doubled and knocked in two runs, and Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings, as the Pittsburgh Pirates got by the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the second of a three-game set at PNC Park.

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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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .