Uccaneers Baseball Betting News

<< Weibring two clear in Oregon
Sunriver, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.A. Weibring carded his second straight five- under 67 to take a two-stroke lead at the halfway point of the Tradition. Weibring completed 36 holes of the season's fourth major at 10-under-par 134. Tom Leh

<< UIC tabs Howard Moore as new head coach
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Illinois at Chicago has named Howard Moore, a University of Wisconsin assistant coach, as the school's new head basketball coach. The 37-year-old Moore, a native of Chicago, grew up a few b

<< A-Rod pulled from game after one at-bat
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez returned to the New York Yankees' lineup on Friday against Seattle, but was pulled for a pinch-hitter after just one at-bat. Rodriguez hadn't played in the last three games because of a strained le

<< Clemens gives interview a day following indictment
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Speaking publicly for the first time since being indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens said several times he is look

Wilson stymies O's to halt Rangers' skid at four >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Wilson and Neftali Feliz combined on a three-hitter and Mitch Moreland homered as Texas shut down Baltimore, 2-0, in the second meeting of a four-game set. Wilson (12-5) allowed three hits over 8 2

Halladay and Phils shut down Nationals >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul Ibanez drove in the only run of the game, as Roy Halladay and the Phillies blanked the Nationals, 1-0, in the start of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay (16-8) had runners on

Busch ties Nationwide season win record at Bristol >>
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch picked up his Nationwide Series record-tying 10th victory of the season by taking Friday night's Food City 250 in dramatic fashion at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch took the lead from Brad Kes

Federer lands in Cincy SFs; Nadal upended >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer was a straight-set quarterfinal winner, while top seed Rafael Nadal was an upset victim Friday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event. T

Football Betting

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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