05/09/2008 - Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the first shootout of the tournament, Sergei Mozyakin and Alexei Morozov each scored in the shootout to help Russia to a 4-3 win over Belarus at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.
Russia now sits in first place in Group E while Belarus is on the brink of missing the quarterfinals. Belarus needs to win its next two games while hoping either Sweden or Switzerland fails to gain any more points.
Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov scored twice while Washington's Alexander Ovechkin scored the other marker for Russia.
Niko Kapanen's goal with 9:16 to play lifted Finland to a 2-1 win over Latvia.
Latvia got a stellar performance from goaltender Edgars Masalskis, who made 62 saves in the game, but has lost all three games in the qualifying round.
The Finns now sit one point behind Canada for the top spot in Group F.
<< U.S. women to play Norway, Sweden in Europe
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States womens national team, ranked
No. 1 in the world by FIFA, will travel to Europe for exhibition games against
Norway and Sweden this summer.
The U.S., which is 12-0-1 this year, plays Norway on
<< Federer falls; Djokovic, Roddick reach Rome semis
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer
suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek
Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters. Meanwhile, Australian Open
champion Novak Djo
<< City in line for UEFA Cup spot
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City could secure a surprise
route into European football next season after UEFA revealed England have
finished top of the fair play standings.
One Premier League club will now be han
<< Bayern's Gorlitz will remain on loan to Karlsruher
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich defender Andreas Gorlitz will
remain on loan with Karlsruher next season, the clubs announced Friday.
Gorlitz, 26, went out on loan to promoted Karlsruher this season. The deal was
extended un
Rangers trade OF Mench to Toronto >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers traded outfielder Kevin
Mench to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday for cash considerations.
Mench, who in 2006 became one of just five players in MLB history to hit a
home run in sev
Sexson suspended six games, will appeal >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson
has been suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for his violent
and aggressive actions in the fourth inning of Thursday's game against the
Texas R
Cubs' Lilly silences Arizona's bats >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ted Lilly tossed seven brilliant innings, and
Derrek Lee homered as Chicago downed Arizona, 3-1, in the opener of a three-
game set.
Lilly (3-4) allowed just one run on three hits, while walking two and fa
Murphy named AL's top rookie for April >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder David Murphy was
named the American League Rookie of the Month for April.
In 27 games last month, the 26-year-old Murphy batted .277 with two home runs
and 14 runs batted in.
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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