Wwchicagobulls Basketball Betting News

<< Red Sox continue homestand with clash against Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox shoot for a third straight win this evening, when they open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. After dropping the opener of their set with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday,

<< Rookie Nova gets call for Yankees' opener in Toronto
Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Nova makes his first major league start this evening, when the New York Yankees open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Nova, who pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Yankees

<< Tigers hope to keep winning as Royals visit Motor City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers shoot for a fourth straight win when they open a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals this evening at Comerica Park. Although the team's poor play since the All-Star break has taken it out of p

<< Wright named UC Davis' starting QB
Davis, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UC Davis football coach Bob Biggs named redshirt freshman Randy Wright as the team's starting quarterback for its opener against Cal on Sept. 4 in Berkeley. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Wright was selected over sophom

Thrashers re-sign Little >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed forward Bryan Little to a multiyear contract, the team announced Monday. The 22-year-old Little, a restricted free agent, dropped from 31 goals and 51 points in 2008-09

NL playoff hopefuls square off in San Francisco >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants return home seeking to bounce back from a tough road trip, while the Cincinnati Reds aim to continue their success on a West Coast swing when the two playoff hopefuls open up a key three-game series t

Braves turn to Hudson in opener with Rox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two of the Atlanta Braves' young guns led the way in a one-sided victory on Sunday, the team will turn to one of its established stars in hopes of getting a three-game road series with the Colorado Rockies off to a good

Myers tries to derail Phils' playoff hopes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An outstanding recent stretch has the Philadelphia Phillies in position for a possible fourth consecutive trip to the postseason. You can bet Brett Myers will be determined to stop that roll from continuing. Myers will fa

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

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