11/20/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn has a broken right index finger, but it apparently won't sideline him for Sunday's game against Houston.
Quinn, who has started the last two games for the Browns, has a small fracture in the tip of the finger on his throwing hand, suffered when he hit another player's helmet in Monday's 29-27 win over the Buffalo Bills.
The second-year quarterback was examined by a hand specialist, who cleared him to play. Quinn will wear a splint on the finger when he's not practicing or playing.
Drafted 22nd overall by Cleveland out of Notre Dame in 2007, Quinn has completed 37-of-71 passes for 424 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in two starts for the Browns this season. After a 34-30 loss to Denver in his first career start, Quinn completed 14-of-36 passes for 185 yards on Monday, as Cleveland edged Buffalo for his first win.
The Columbus, Ohio native was given the starting job after Derek Anderson struggled in Cleveland's 3-5 start. The 4-6 Browns host the 3-7 Texans on Sunday.
<< Mussina hangs up spikes after first 20-win season
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina, as
expected, retired on Thursday after 18 seasons in the major leagues.
Reports circulated on Wednesday that Mussina had decided to call it quits
after the fi
<< Golf Tidbits: Why golf is a gentleman's sport
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every sport has its rules. How often
people break them depends on the sport. How frequently people call themselves
for breaking said rules is a different story.
Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwir
<< Nalbandian-Ferrer will open Davis Cup final
Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the 2008 Davis Cup final
between host Argentina and Spain commences on Friday, the host nation's David
Nalbandian will battle the visitors' David Ferrer in the opening singles
rubber
<< Is Mussina a Hall of Famer?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The worst-kept secret in baseball started to leak out on
Wednesday, when it was revealed that right-hander Mike Mussina was indeed
going to hang up his spikes after 18 seasons.
The news certainly comes as no shock, as the
Atletico forced to play PSV behind closed doors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid has been told it will have to
play next week's Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven behind closed
doors.
The Spanish side partially lost their appeal to the Court of Arbitratio
Broncos put TE Jackson on IR, sign Mustard >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos placed tight end Nate
Jackson on injured reserve Thursday, ending his season. The club also signed
tight end Chad Mustard.
Jackson injured his right hamstring in practice on Wednesd
Report: Dolphins sign WR Camarillo to three-year extension >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have reportedly come to terms
on a three-year contract extension with wideout Greg Camarillo, the team's
leading receiver.
The Miami Herald reported Thursday that the Dolphins and Camarill
Juventus targeting Bayern Munich's Schweinsteiger >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reports from Turin suggest Bayern Munich's
Germany international Bastian Schweinsteiger is a target for Juventus.
The Serie A giants are keen to sign a replacement for Pavel Nedved in January
and, accor
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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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!
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