10/09/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley and Pat Burrell each hit a homer in the sixth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies came back to edge the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
Cole Hamels (1-0) gave up a run in the first inning, but settled down to throw seven solid frames. The left-hander gave up two runs on six hits and a pair of walks, and struck out eight for the Phillies, who are making their first NLCS appearance since 1993.
Utley, Burrell and Carlos Ruiz each notched a pair of hits for Philadelphia, which reached the NLCS after beating Milwaukee in four games in the Division Series. Brad Lidge was perfect in the ninth to earn the save, his 44th in as many opportunities this season.
Derek Lowe (0-1) shut down the Phillies early, but came undone in the sixth inning to eventually take the loss. He allowed both homers for three runs -- two earned -- as well as six hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings, with two strikeouts. Lowe had given up just 14 homers in 34 starts during the regular season.
Manny Ramirez collected two hits and a run batted in for the Dodgers, who are in their first NLCS since 1988.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday back at Citizens Bank Park.
<< Toronto spoils Detroit's title celebration
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Kulemin's first NHL goal was the game-
winner, as Toronto held on for a 3-2 triumph over Detroit in the regular-
season opener for both clubs at Joe Louis Arena.
Pavel Kubina and Dominic Moore al
<< Three share lead in Texas
Midland, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spencer Levin, Tom Gillis and Reid Edstrom each
opened with rounds of six-under-par 66 Thursday to share the lead after the
first round of the WNB Golf Classic.
Aron Price, the Livermore Valley Wine Champio
<< Miami C Magloire injures left hand
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire suffered
a fracture of the third metacarpal in his left hand during the team's
preseason loss to the New Jersey Nets on Thursday.
Magloire was taken to a local P
<< AHL's 73rd season underway
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League began its 73rd
season on Wednesday as the Providence Bruins earned a 4-3 shootout win over
the visiting Lowell Devils and the defending Eastern Conference champion
Wilkes-
RSL, RBNY open Rio Tino Stadium with lackluster 1-1 draw >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake opened
Major League Soccer's seventh soccer-specific stadium - Rio Tinto Stadium - on
Thursday night with a lackluster 1-1 result in front of over 20,000 screaming
fans ju
Pittsburgh extends women's hoops coach Berenato >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Pittsburgh on Thursday
announced a three-year contract extension for head women's basketball coach
Agnus Berenato.
The move will make her Pitt's head coach through the 2015-16 season
Vancouver throttles Calgary in season-opener >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Burrows scored a pair of goals and
Roberto Luongo stopped all 25 shots he saw, as Vancouver rolled to a 6-0 win
over Calgary in both clubs' season opener.
Mattias Ohlund notched a goal and ass
Krejci's tally lifts Bruins over Avs in season-opener >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Krejci's even-strength marker late in the
third period proved to be the game-winner, as the Boston Bruins kicked off the
2008-09 campaign with a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi
Center.
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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