Socccernet Soccer Betting News

<< Villarreal's Rossi open to Serie A return
Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americna-born Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi would consider leaving Villarreal should a "great" club come calling, according to his agent. Federico Pastorello claims the Italy international w

<< City interested in Brazilian Maicon
Mancheseter, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City is interested in signing Maicon, according to the agent of the Brazil fullback. The 27-year-old is unsettled at current club Inter Milan and has been linked with Manchester U

<< Twente's Arnautovic still hopes to join Inter
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Twente Austria international striker Marko Arnautovic remains confident that he will be able to complete a dream move to Inter Milan. The 20-year-old is reported to be one of Inter's top

<< Barca's Xavi welcomes latest Villa link
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Xavi Hernandez has urged Valencia striker David Villa to join him at Barcelona. The Spain midfielder has admitted he is excited by the prospect of his international colleague joining up with

Wigan's Valencia can pick United or Real >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan insists in-demand winger Luis Antonio Valencia will ultimately decide himself which club to join. The Latics have accepted bids in the region of $25 million fro

Muniz returns to coach Malaga >>
Malaga, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz has returned to Malaga to take up the coaching vacancy at La Rosaleda. Lopez Muniz spent two years at the helm of Malaga and led them to promotion to the top-flight before leaving to

Roma's Perrotta ponders German move >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma and Italy midfielder Simone Perrotta is a target for both Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, according to the player's agent. The 31-year-old is in no hurry to leave the Italian capital, but would consider a m

Real swoops for Valencia's Albiol >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid has continued its squad rebuilding by signing defender Raul Albiol from Valencia. The 23-year-old Spain international has joined the big-spending Bernabeu club for a fee believed to be in the re

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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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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