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12/12/2008 - Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich visits Stuttgart in a clash of the last two Bundesliga champions Saturday, trying to extend its undefeated streak to 16 matches and put pressure on current leader Hoffenheim.
Bayern edged Hoffenheim, 2-1, last weekend to pull level in points with the new Bundesliga side but trails on goal differential entering the final week of the first half of the season.
"We'll go to Stuttgart in a confident mood," Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann said, "and as before, our aim is to win the [first-half] championship."
Hoffenheim hosts Schalke on Sunday, when it will already know what it needs to do to hold onto the top spot for the winter break.
Bayern added to its huge win last weekend with a 3-2 win over Lyon on Wednesday to finish atop its Champions League group.
Luca Toni was the hero for Bayern last weekend, scoring in the 92nd minute of a thrilling win over the newly-promoted leaders. Miroslav Klose, who leads Bayern with 11 goals in all competitions, led the team against Lyon with a pair goals.
With Franck Ribery pairing with those two strikers, Bayern's offense has been a force during the unbeaten streak. Ribery will sit out this weekend's match with a shoulder injury picked up against Lyon.
The Munich club will have a hard time replacing Ribery, who is currently one of the top players in the world, but will be healthier than in mid week. Defender Lucio and midfielder Ze Roberto are back after missing the Lyon match.
Midfielder Hamit Altintop, who missed months with an ankle injury, returned for a brief appearance on Wednesday and could play longer against Stuttgart.
Although Stuttgart is 10 points back in ninth, new coach Markus Babbel has won two straight league matches since replacing Armin Veh.
Babbel has injury concerns with Mario Gomez questionable and Ludovic Magnin out with a muscle tear, but could get a boost with Yildiray Basturk expected to be back from a long injury absence.
The new Stuttgart coach knows he's got his hands full regardless.
"If you allow [Bayern] the space to play football, they will leave you with no chance," Babbel said.
Hoffenheim hopes Stuttgart gives it an easier chance to hold onto the top spot when it hosts Schalke. If Bayern wins, Hoffe will have to win to stay in first.
Despite the loss to Bayern last weekend, Hoffenheim has still won eight of its last 10. Vedad Ibisevic scored the first goal in the loss to Bayern, upping his lead in the league to 18 goals through 16 matches.
On Friday, Mohamed Zidan and Nuri Sahin scored and Borussia Dortmund beat last- place Monchengladbach 2-1.
Also Saturday, third-place Bayer Leverkusen will try to close in on the leaders when it hosts Energie, fourth-place Hertha Berlin hosts Karlsruhe, Bochum hosts Koln, Hamburg hosts Eintracht, Werder Bremen hosts Wolfsburg and Hannover hosts Arminia Bielefeld.
<< Tigers sign Santiago
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms on a one-
year contract with infielder Ramon Santiago on Friday, avoiding arbitration.
Santiago batted .282 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 58 games last season
with D
<< Bills to be without CB Greer again
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills cornerback Jabari Greer will
not play Sunday against the New York Jets due to a nagging knee injury.
Greer had limited participation in practice on Wednesday and Thursday and
barely pra
<< Top four clash in SPL this weekend
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top four clubs in the Scottish
Premier League table square off on Saturday afternoon.
Second-place Rangers travels to third-place Dundee United with the hope of
gaining on the leaders, Celt
<< Roughriders sign Clermont
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed wide
receiver Jason Clermont on Friday.
The Regina native was originally drafted by the B.C. Lions fourth overall in
the 2002 CFL Draft. In seven years with the
Barcelona has chance to bury Real Madrid >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's 20-match unbeaten streak ended
on Wednesday - the club's "B Team" was responsible for the 3-2 Champions League
loss to Shakhtar Donetsk - but the Camp Nou club will be back at full strength
Satu
Bad economy forces suspension of Breeders' Cup stakes program >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to keep the total purses of the
2009 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at $25.5 million, the
organization has announced the suspension of its stakes program for the year.
For
Toronto FC >>
Acquired Dwayne De Rosario from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for defender Julius James and allocation money.
Price and Sluman lead Merrill Lynch Shootout >>
Naples, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Price and Jeff Sluman combined for an
eight-under 64 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the
$2.9 million Merrill Lynch Shootout.
Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry are in second pla
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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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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