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12/12/2008 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's 20-match unbeaten streak ended on Wednesday - the club's "B Team" was responsible for the 3-2 Champions League loss to Shakhtar Donetsk - but the Camp Nou club will be back at full strength Saturday with a shot to bury rival Real Madrid.
Barca has been the most dominant team in the world for months, crushing almost every opponent to cruise to a first-place finish in its group in the Champions League and open a six-point lead in La Liga.
Barcelona already had first place in the group secured and used reserves in the loss to Shakhtar Donetsk. But its last league win, 4-0 over Valencia, was just the latest in a string of dominating results.
Real Madrid has struggled, slipping nine points back - it could fall 12 behind with a loss this weekend - and fired Bernd Schuster earlier this week after he said the club couldn't win at Barcelona this week.
Juande Ramos replaced Schuster and led Real to an easy victory in the Champions League on Wednesday over Zenit St. Petersburg, 3-0.
Last season, Real Madrid hammered Barca 4-1 late in the season to essentially seal its second straight league title. With Barcelona in top form right now, it could be payback time.
"We have the chance, we are on good form. We want the fans to see a good game and to show them that 4-1 loss is now behind us," Barca's Rafa Marquez said. "But we have to stay humble and perhaps that's how we can get a positive result out of this.
"There is no need to watch that game again, but it's something we have on our minds."
Payback isn't the only thing on Marquez's mind, though. The most important part is to just get the win, and put Real so far behind it will struggle to catch up to the leaders.
"The team is very aware of how important it is to win at all costs, whether it's 1-0 or by a bigger score, we're just worried about getting the three points," Marquez said. "We are focused on our job.
"A win would give us an important lead over Madrid and a good cushion to work with."
Real Madrid lost its last league match under Schuster, falling 4-3 to Sevilla. With four losses through 14 weeks, the defending champions are just three away from their total losses from last season.
Madrid's Arjen Robben admitted the team is still getting used to Ramos, but the first glance was promising.
"We still don't know the coach too well. We first have to play in Barcelona; we'll start knowing each other better after the weekend," said Robben, who will miss this weekend's clash.
Ramos knows Real wants to return to top form as soon as possible, but it could take a little while for everything to come together.
"I noticed my men were anxious to completely change the situation they are in. They worked hard and showed me they want to change as fast possible. They will do whatever it takes," Ramos said.
Even Marquez knows the importance of this weekend's match, and realizes a loss could be the spark to turn Real's season around.
"Playing the clasico is more motivating than anything," Marquez said, "and the change of manager will be a breath of fresh air."
"We will fight hard to take the three points at stake," Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain said.
"We know we are in better form, but these games are unpredictable; you never know what's going to happen," Barcelona's Xavi said.
Also Saturday, third-place Valencia will try to rebound from its loss to Barca when it hosts Espanyol.
On Sunday, Sevilla hosts Villarreal in a clash of top-four clubs, Atletico Madrid hosts Real Betis, Valladolid hosts Deportivo, Recreativo hosts Osasuna, Getafe hosts Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao hosts Sporting Gijon, Almeria hosts Racing and Malaga hosts Numancia.
<< Bayern wants to put pressure on Hoffenheim
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich visits Stuttgart in a clash
of the last two Bundesliga champions Saturday, trying to extend its undefeated
streak to 16 matches and put pressure on current leader Hoffenheim.
Bayern edged
<< TFC brings De Rosario home in blockbuster trade with Houston
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC announced on Friday they have
acquired four-time Major League Soccer Cup winner and three-time MLS All-Star
Dwayne De Rosario from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for defender Julius
James a
<< Tigers sign Santiago
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms on a one-
year contract with infielder Ramon Santiago on Friday, avoiding arbitration.
Santiago batted .282 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 58 games last season
with D
<< Bills to be without CB Greer again
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills cornerback Jabari Greer will
not play Sunday against the New York Jets due to a nagging knee injury.
Greer had limited participation in practice on Wednesday and Thursday and
barely pra
Toronto FC >>
Acquired Dwayne De Rosario from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for defender Julius James and allocation money.
Price and Sluman lead Merrill Lynch Shootout >>
Naples, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Price and Jeff Sluman combined for an
eight-under 64 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the
$2.9 million Merrill Lynch Shootout.
Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry are in second pla
White Sox ink Betemit and Wise; finalize four-year deal with Viciedo >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox avoided arbitration on
Friday with infielder Wilson Betemit and outfielder DeWayne Wise, signing the
duo to one-year contracts.
The 27-year-old Betemit, who was acquired from the Yan
Crew and Sounders reach agreement on Schmid contract >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced on Friday that
the Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders FC resolved a potential contractual
issue regarding former Crew coach Sigi Schmid.
Columbus acquired allocation money
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
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Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
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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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