N.Y. visits Columbus with first place at stake

Soccer Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew host Red Bull New York in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday night in Major League Soccer action.

The Crew are two points up on the Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference table. Columbus (8-3-4) could be at a disadvantage, even though it is the home team, because it just played on Wednesday, a 1-0 loss to Kansas City at Crew Stadium.

Red Bull (8-5-2) is also flying high after just announcing the signing of superstar striker Thierry Henry, although he is not expected to play Saturday.

"It's absolutely fantastic to get an absolutely top class player, still only 32 [years old], winning everything you can imagine," New York coach Hans Backe said. "Being captain for Arsenal and French national team, the character and personality he has is outstanding."

Henry is fit to play, but Backe will probably wait until the club's July 31 match at Houston to unveil his newest weapon in league play.

"He'll have a little getting used to the type of play that is in the MLS," New York midfielder Seth Stammler said. "It's physical and fast. But obviously he's a guy that has been around the block. I think he can easily adapt to the style of play. I think within a few practices and a game or two he will be fully enveloped in the team and won't miss a beat. He will contribute a great deal to what we are doing."

New York is currently on a five-game unbeaten run, and has been slowly chipping away at the lead Columbus built in the East after a fast start. The Crew have been faltering as of late, winning just two of seven league fixtures to open the door for the surging Red Bulls, but can close it slightly with a result on Saturday.

"We go into every game, even on the road looking to win," New York defender Tim Ream said after his team's most recent league fixture, a scoreless draw vs. D.C. United. "We don't go into the game looking for ties. We have to come out better than we did [vs. United] possession wise and just take it to [Columbus] and do what they did to us a couple weeks ago."

Even though Columbus is on short rest, it is relatively healthy heading into Saturday's match, while New York will be without midfielders Giorgi Chirgadze, Brian Nielsen and Carl Robinson, and defender Kevin Goldthwaite because of injuries. Forward Salou Ibrahim is also questionable with a foot sprain.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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