10/14/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Northwest Division clubs seeking their first victories of the season will meet tonight in Calgary, as the Flames welcome the Colorado Avalanche to the Saddledome.
The Avalanche began the season with back-to-back regulation losses, losing 5-4 to visiting Boston on Thursday and dropping a 3-2 decision at Edmonton on Sunday.
Calgary is 0-1-1 after beginning the 2008-09 campaign with a home-and-home series with the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames were pounded, 6-0, Thursday in Vancouver and then were dealt a 5-4 setback Saturday in Calgary.
Dustin Penner's tip-in with 5.4 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Oilers the close victory over the Avalanche on Sunday. Penner had also given Edmonton the lead early in the third in a two-goal performance.
Joe Sakic lit the lamp in the second and Milan Hejduk tied the game midway through the third on a penalty shot for Colorado, which saw Peter Budaj take the loss in facing 19 shots.
Colorado hasn't begun a season with two straight regulation losses since the 1998-99 Avs started the year on a four-game slide.
Pavol Demitra netted the overtime winner with 1:06 left in the extra session to lead the Canucks to the win at the Saddledome on Saturday.
Rene Bourque and Mike Cammalleri each had a goal and assist for Calgary, which also got goals from Andre Roy and Todd Bertuzzi. Miikka Kiprusoff was victimized for the five goals on 34 shots.
Tonight, the Flames will try to avoid a three-game losing streak to start the season for the second straight year. Calgary was 0-2-1 after three tests in 2007-08.
Colorado went 5-3 against the Flames last year and has won nine of the last 12 encounters between the clubs. However, the Avs have lost in two of their last three trips to the Saddledome.
<< Flyers and Pens renew battle of Pennsylvania
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia's first eight games this year come against
playoff teams from a year ago. Still searching for a win on this tough opening
stretch, the Flyers renew their Pennsylvania rivalry with the Pittsburgh
Penguins tonight
<< Big Brown was a shooting star in 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The buzz began following his double-digit
victory in a maiden race on the turf at Saratoga in 2007. He did not race
again until the Gulfstream Park meet in early 2008.
Big Brown lit up the sky with
<< Eighth-inning HRs by Victorino, Stairs rally Phils past Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino stared into the Dodgers
dugout after blasting his game-tying two-run homer in the eighth, then pinch-
hitter Matt Stairs glared into the Los Angeles night to follow his towering
go-ahea
<< Report: Cowboys' Felix Jones out with hamstring injury
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones
is reportedly going to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a left hamstring injury suffered
in Sunday's loss against Arizona.
According to the Dallas Morning News, starting ru
Sharks shoot for 4-0 start against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks will aim for the first 4-0 start to a
season in franchise history tonight, when they welcome the Columbus Blue
Jackets to HP Pavilion.
The Sharks are 3-0-0 for the second time in three seasons, having a
Rays hope to push Red Sox to brink of elimination in Game 4 at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays hope to push the Boston Red to the brink
of elimination this evening, when the teams play Game 4 of the American League
Championship Series at Fenway Park.
Tampa went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series o
Report: Redskins look at former MVP Alexander >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins are reportedly
considering adding former MVP running back Shaun Alexander to serve as a
backup to Clinton Portis.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Redskins,
Capello: England has to defeat Belarus >>
Minsk, Belarus (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England boss Fabio Capello said Tuesday he
will settle for nothing less than a victory in Wednesday's World Cup qualifying
clash against Belarus in Minsk.
Capello's side has won their first three group ga
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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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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