Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/04/2010 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution kept their slim Major League Soccer playoff aspirations alive with a 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Goals by Chris Tierney, Marko Perovic and Kheli Dube in the final 20 minutes put an end to Seattle's seven game unbeaten run in league play.
After the two teams battled to a scoreless first half, Seattle Steve Zakuani opened the scoring with his eight goal of the season just before the hour mark.
The play was started with a throw-in on the right side that eventually was played into the corner of the New England penalty area to Alvaro Fernandez. Fernandez then played a ball to James Riley, who threaded a pass to Zakuani for a close-range blast into the net.
The Revs equalized in the 71st minute when Tierney scored his first goal of the season, heading home a Shalrie Joseph flick from a long throw-in by Kevin Alston.
Just two minutes later the Revs took their first lead of the game when Perovic knocked a loose ball past Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller. The goal was Perovic's sixth of the season.
Dube added his first of the season in the 81st minute, capitalizing on a give- and-go with Ilija Stolica to close out the scoring.
The Revs (7-12-3) will aim to build on the solid effort at Chivas USA on Friday, while Seattle (9-9-5) hopes to rebound at Real Salt Lake on Thursday in its next MLS fixture.
<< Jurrjens, Braves shut down Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jair Jurrjens and two relievers combined on a
four-hitter as Atlanta stifled Florida, 2-0, in the middle meeting of a
three-game set at Sun Life Stadium.
Jurrjens (7-4) allowed three hits, while he w
<< Chiefs release 13, including Morgan; Leggett and Urban to IR
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Safety DaJuan Morgan was among the most
prominent players released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, as the team
reduced its roster to the 53-player maximum.
Morgan played in 28 games as a Chief after
<< Phils score twice in seventh to squeeze past Brewers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun's throwing error in the bottom
of the seventh allowed the Phillies to score the go-ahead run, as Philadelphia
got past Milwaukee, 5-4, in the second test of a three-game series at Citizens
Bank Pa
<< Schulz grabs three-stroke lead at First Tee Open
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ted Schulz fired a eight-under 64 at
Pebble Beach on Saturday to grab a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the
First Tee Open.
Schulz, who is making his 12th Champions Tour start of the year, completed
Jacksonville State revels in upset of Rebels >>
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State didn't have to go for a 2-
point conversion, and the win, in the second overtime against Mississippi on
Saturday.
It's a good thing JSU coach head coach Jack Crowe didn't believe his defense
Razorbacks roll to season-opening win >>
Fayetteville, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Mallett tossed three touchdown passes
to lead 17th-ranked Arkansas to a 44-3 rout of Tennessee Tech in the opener
for both schools.
Mallett went 21-for-24 for 301 yards along with a pick for t
Goalkeeper gaffe gives Columbus win at United >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored the lone
goal after a mistake by D.C. United rookie goalie Bill Hamid and the Columbus
Crew won 1-0 on Saturday night in Major League Soccer at RFK Stadium.
Columbus (13-
Cornhuskers clobber WKU >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for
three touchdowns and accounted for 263 of Nebraska's 536 yards of offense, as
the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers walloped Western Kentucky, 49-10, at Memorial
Stadium
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)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting