Portland signs G Diener

Basketball Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers signed guard Travis Diener on Wednesday, two days after he was waived by the Indiana Pacers.

Over five seasons in the NBA, which has included stints with Orlando and Indiana, he has averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 174 games.

Wwwoasiscasino Basketball Betting News

<< Sabres acquire F Torres from Columbus
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres made a move before the trade deadline on Wednesday by acquiring left wing Raffi Torres from the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick. Torres h

<< Bulls C Noah out three weeks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is expected to be sidelined for the next three weeks due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the team announced on Wednesday. The injury has kept Noah in and out of

<< Ducks and Flames swap backup goaltenders
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames for goaltender Vesa Toskala. McElhinney, 26, has served as Miikka Kiprusoff's backup over his three seasons in the league and

<< Ducks and Oilers swap backup goaltenders
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney from the Edmonton Oilers for goaltender Vesa Toskala. McElhinney, 26, has served as Miikka Kiprusoff's backup over his three seasons in the league and

<< U.S. wins Algarve Cup final over Germany
Faro, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States women's national soccer team topped Germany 3-2 in the Algarve Cup final on Wednesday in Portugal. Lauren Cheney, who scored two goals in the American's previous Algarve Cup match v

Gotham Stakes attracts 10 three-year-olds >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of 10 Kentucky Derby hopefuls has been entered for Saturday's $250,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. The 1 1/16- mile Gotham is the final local prep before the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3

Ducks receive G MacDonald from Leafs >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2011 seventh-round draft pick. MacDonald has spent most of the 2009-10 campaign with the Toronto Mar

Oilers, Ducks swap defensemen >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers acquired defenseman Ryan Whitney from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky on Wednesday. In his first full season with the Ducks, Whitney posted four goals

Caps re-acquire D Jurcina >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals made another depth move on Wednesday, re-acquiring defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2010 conditional draft pick. Jurcina, who was ship

Thrashers acquire F MacArthur from Sabres >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Clarke MacArthur from the Buffalo Sabres for third and fourth-round picks in the 2010 draft on Wednesday. MacArthur, a third-round selection by Buffalo in th

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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