08/22/2008 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs re-signed guard Michael Finley on Friday. Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.
Finley, who was one of two Spurs to participate in all 82 regular-season games a year ago, finished the year averaging 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
The Wisconsin product also put together 6.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest over 17 playoff games.
A first-round pick of Phoenix (21st overall) back in 1995, Finley has averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 976 career contests with the Suns, Mavs and Spurs.
<< RSL acquires Johnson from Fire for draft picks
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake acquired 21-year-old
forward Will Johnson from the Chicago Fire in exchange for conditional
SuperDraft picks in 2009 and 2011, the team announced on Friday.
"Johnson is an ex
<< Houston, New York aim to extend respective winning streaks
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo will be going for
their fifth straight Major League Soccer win when they travel to take on the
New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The two-time defending
<< Pirates bring Mientkiewicz back from bereavement list
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates reinstated first
baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the bereavement list on Friday.
Mientkiewicz left the team on Monday to be with his wife, Jodi, who underwent
heart surgery for
<< Safarova, Peng land in Forest Hills final
Forest Hills, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Czech Lucie Safarova and Chinese
Shuai Peng will square off in Saturday's final at the $74,800 Forest Hills
Tennis Classic, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
The unseeded Safarova upended third-s
Rockies' Podsednik set to return >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies activated outfielder
Scott Podsednik from the 15-day disabled list on Friday.
Podsednik went on the DL on July 29 with a non-displaced fracture of his left
little finger. The 32-
Edwards takes the pole for Bristol Cup race >>
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards' winning momentum during the
month of August continued Friday as he captured the pole for the Sharpie 500
at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The No.60 Roush Fenway Racing driver circled
the 0.533
Harris homers twice to lead Nats past Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris homered twice, including his
first career grand slam, and drove in six runs as the Washington Nationals
stunned the Cubs by coming back to down Chicago, 13-5, in the opener of a
three-g
Red Sox recall Smith, sign Ross >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox recalled pitcher Chris Smith
from Triple-A Pawtucket and signed catcher David Ross to a minor-league
contract Friday.
The moves come prior to the start of a three-game series against
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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