09/30/2008 - Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos wide receiver Clifford Russell has been placed on injured reserve after leaving Sunday's game against Kansas City after spraining his neck.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan made the announcement Tuesday about Russell, who suffered the injury on a scary play in Denver's 33-19 loss to the Chiefs. On a Denver kickoff in the fourth quarter, Russell charged down the field and was met head-on by the Kansas City wedge. He fell to the ground and remained there for several minutes before being taken off the field on a stretcher with his head immobilized.
He was taken to a local hospital and was released following examination. He accompanied the team on its charter flight back to Denver, but will miss the remainder of the season.
To fill Russell's roster spot, the Broncos re-signed Glenn Martinez, who played in 12 games for the Broncos last season. He made 14 catches for 175 yards in 2007, his third season in the league. Martinez played sparingly from 2005-06 with Detroit.
Russell, in his sixth season in the NFL, having played with Washington, Cincinnati, Miami and Denver, has five career catches for 45 yards.
<< Report: Spurs' Ginobili out until December
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs will reportedly
have to play without guard Manu Ginobili until December, and possibly longer.
The San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday that Spurs head coach Gregg
Popov
<< Kings acquire veteran O'Donnell from Ducks
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings added some much-
needed experience to a defense corps laden with youth, acquiring Sean
O'Donnell from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2009 conditional draft
choice
<< Texans S Brown done for season
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans safety C.C. Brown was placed
on injured reserve on Tuesday, and is out for the season after having surgery
to mend a fractured arm.
Brown suffered the injury in Sunday's 30-27 overtime loss
<< Phillies OF Burrell experiences back discomfort
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Pat
Burrell left batting practice on Tuesday after feeling discomfort in his lower
back during a swing.
Burrell hasn't been ruled out for Wednesday afternoon's opener
Danks, Thome carry White Sox into postseason >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks dominated for eight innings, and
Jim Thome's solo homer in the seventh was all the offense Chicago needed, as
the White Sox edged the Minnesota Twins 1-0 on Tuesday in a one-game playoff
to deci
Report: Steelers bring back Davenport to thinned running back corps >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly
brought running back Najeh Davenport back into the fold after seeing starter
Willie Parker and first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall go down in
consecu
Ferrer, Roddick reach third round in Tokyo >>
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds David Ferrer and Andy Roddick
were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the $869,000 Japan Open Tennis
Championships.
The reigning Tokyo champion Ferrer got past American Jesse Levine
Brewers play first postseason game in 26 years in Philadelphia >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers play their first postseason game
since 1982 this evening when they open the best-of-five National League
Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Ironically, the turni
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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