11/27/2008 - Santiago, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hugo Leon fired a six-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Sport Frances Open at Sports Frances Golf Club.
This is the first event of the season on the Canadian Tour. It is co- sponsoring this championship, the 50th anniversary, with the Tour de las Americas.
Walter Rodriguez is alone in second place at minus-four.
Leon began his opening round on the back nine and recorded birdies at 11 and 14. He parred his remaining holes on his first nine, then the first two holes on his second side.
At the par-four third, Leon hit a three-iron off the tee, then holed his sand- wedge approach for an eagle.
"I picked the sand-wedge and hit the ball within 10 feet of the pin," said Leon, a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University. "It bounced once and rolled into the cup. It was a great boost for my game because I was playing well but had missed several birdie chances."
Leon birdied the seventh and ninth to grab the lead.
Mario Hurtado, Mike Grob and Ramon Bescansa are knotted in third place at three-under 68.
Lucas Lee, Christoph Geunther, Rob Grube, Rafael Gomez and Benjamin Alvarado share sixth place at two-under 69.
<< Eskimos' Maciocia steps down as head coach
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Eskimos announced on Thursday
that Danny Maciocia has stepped down as the team's head coach and will assume
the duties of general manager and director of football operations.
Maciocia was hi
<< Romo's three TDs help Cowboys pound Seahawks
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Romo threw three touchdowns as the Dallas
Cowboys destroyed the Seattle Seahawks, 34-9.
Romo went 22-for-34 with 331 yards and an interception and his favorite target
was Jason Witten, who caught nine
<< Teague and Wake Forest handle Titans
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Teague scored 24 points to lead No. 19
Wake Forest in a 75-69 victory over Cal State Fullerton in opening round
action of the 76 Classic from the Anaheim Convention Center.
Al-Farouq Aminu and
<< Cowboys' Ware and Barber leave game against Seattle
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware and
running back Marion Barber left Thursday's 34-9 win against Seattle due to
injuries.
Ware had three sacks, taking over the lead in the NFL with 15, befo
Eagles OL Jean-Gilles carted off field >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Max
Jean-Gilles had to carted off the field with an apparent right leg injury in
the second quarter of Thursday night's game with the Arizona Cardinals.
Jean-Gilles
Maryland knocks off No. 5 Spartans in Old Spice Classic >>
Lake Buena Vista, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greivis Vasquez had 17 points and six
assists as the Maryland Terrapins upset the fifth-ranked Michigan State
Spartans, 80-62, in the first round of the third annual Old Spice Classic.
Dave Ne
Spezza leads Sens past Leafs >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Spezza scored the winner in the shootout
as the Ottawa Senators downed the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1, at Scotiabank
Place.
Spezza was the first shooter and he banged his wrister off the right post a
Anaheim's Giguere takes leave of absence >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien
Giguere will miss Friday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks as he returned
to his hometown of Montreal for family reasons.
Giguere is not scheduled to retu
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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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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