Bffalobills Soccer Betting News

<< Swansea signs coach Rodgers to long-term deal
Swansea, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swansea City signed coach Brendan Rodgers to a 3 1/2-year contract extension Thursday through the 2014-15 season. Rodgers, 39, led the Wales club to the Premier League in his first full season and has the cl

<< Ticats reach deals with pair of receivers
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tiger-Cats signed Bakari Grant to a contract extension that will keep the receiver in Hamilton through the 2014 season. Grant caught 42 passes for 507 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie l

<< U.S. will host friendly against Brazil in May
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. men's national team will host five- time World Cup champion Brazil in a friendly on May 30 in Landover, Md. during final preparations for 2014 World Cup qualifying. The U.S. opened the year with win

<< Whiting seeks another Run for the Roses
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been 20 years since trainer Lynn Whiting saddled longshot colt Lil E. Tee to win the 118th Kentucky Derby. The Midwest conditioner has another three-year-old in his stable at Oaklawn Park giving

D-Backs settle with reliever Breslow >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided arbitration on Thursday with Craig Breslow, signing the veteran reliever to a one-year contract. The D-Backs acquired the 31-year-old lefty and starting pitcher Trevor C

Bayern's Schweinsteiger tears ankle ligament >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich and German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger faces another layoff after tearing an ankle ligament in a Pokal Cup win over Stuttgart, the club announced Thursday. Schweinsteiger, who was sidel

Hawks sign Erick Dampier >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have added some depth to a banged-up front line by signing veteran center Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract. Centers Al Horford and Jason Collins are both sidelined with injuries, le

England names Pearce interim coach >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England named Stuart Pearce interim coach Thursday, one day after Fabio Capello resigned. Pearce will manage England against Netherlands in a friendly later this month, while the English FA searches for a

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)

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 .