RSL puts unbeaten run on line at Chicago

Soccer Betting Lines

07/07/2010 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake puts its nine-game unbeaten run on the line when it travels to Chicago to take on the Fire in Major League Soccer action at Toyota Park on Thursday night.

RSL (8-3-3) is coming off a 5-0 thrashing of the New England Revolution in its last league fixture last week, and will be aiming to take the momentum on the road.

RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando also earned his 100th regular season win in the contest.

"He's a fantastic goalkeeper," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "I feel for him a lot of times because I know how he feels. He's a smaller guy; maybe it's that Napoleonic complex that we both have, but he feels like he hasn't gotten any accolades in this league that he's deserved. For me he's such an important part of how we built this team and he's been fantastic every single year. He was our MVP and last year he was the MLS Cup MVP and now I think that he's playing the best soccer that I've seen him play in three years, and that's saying a lot."

"It feels really good," Rimando said of reaching the milestone. "Apparently there's only a few guys that have 100, and I don't get it if I'm not at a club like this. The guys in front of me have made it so much easier to reach this mark. We're an offensive team, we've scored a lot of goals this season, but at the same time we're not letting anything in. Our whole team goes forward and our whole team comes back, and that's what makes it so easy for me."

Chicago (4-4-5) will be trying to come back from a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Columbus Crew this past Saturday. The Fire were vastly outplayed, with their only goal being an own goal by Crew defender Frankie Hejduk.

"We've had battles against Chicago every single time," Hejduk told mlssoccer.com. "I don't think this was much of a battle as it normally is. We outclassed them a little bit. Aside from the own goal we really outclassed them and outplayed them."

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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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