11/13/2008 - Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zdenek Grygera, Amauri and Vincenzo Iaquinta scored to help Juventus open a three-goal lead and roll to a 4-1 win over Genoa on Thursday and into second place in Serie A.
Juventus, which allowed a penalty kick and got own goal in the closing minutes, moved level on points with first-place Inter Milan. Juve sits second on goal differential and could slip back down the standings this weekend.
Juventus and Genoa, which stayed seventh, were the only teams to play Thursday. The rest of the league plays this weekend.
Grygera put Juve in front in the sixth minute when Alessandro Del Piero set him up on the right side and he finished from a tight angle inside the left post.
Matteo Ferrari and Diego Milito, who scored his league-high 10th goal on the PK in the closing minutes, followed with misses just inches wide on chances five minutes apart that could have draw Genoa level.
Amauri made those misses more costly when he bagged his sixth goal of the young season in the 26th minute. Grygera set up the goal with a cross from the right, and Amauri finished with a header into the left side.
Genoa's third great chance of the first half was five minutes later when a pass was deflected off the post by a Juve defender. Giuseppe Sculli put another shot into the side-netting in the 65th minute for Genoa, which was unlucky all day.
Juventus finally put the match away in the 85th minute when Del Piero flicked a pass to Iaquinta, who just seconds earlier entered the game, and he finished to the bottom right from the edge of the area.
On Saturday, Palermo hosts Inter Milan. On Sunday, Siena hosts Bologna, Catania hosts Torino, Sampdoria hosts Lecce, Cagliari hosts Fiorentina, Atalanta hosts Napoli, AC Milan hosts Chievo, Udinese hosts Reggina and Roma hosts Lazio.
<< Rams' Jackson out of practice again
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
did not participate in Thursday's practice in advance of Sunday's game at San
Francisco.
"Steven didn't work today," said Rams head coach Jim Haslett. "I
<< Lam leads stars in Singapore
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chih Bing Lam posted a four-under 67 on Thursday
to steal the spotlight from many of the big names and move in front during the
first round of the Singapore Open.
"It just feels good to be here, I guess I playe
<< A-Rod nabs 10th Silver Slugger; half of winners new
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex
Rodriguez picked up his 10th Silver Slugger Award on Thursday, highlighting a
relatively new cast of players to receive the honor given to the top
offensi
<< Celtic coach Strachan mum on Zaluska rumors
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has refused
to confirm reports that he wants to sign goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska from Dundee
United.
The Poland shot-stopper has been linked with a move to Parkhead wit
United goalie Wells undergoes foot surgery >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United goalkeeper Zach Wells underwent
successful foot surgery on Thursday and will be sidelined for nearly the entire
Major League Soccer offseason.
Wells had a damaged tibial sesamoid bone removed
Sorenstam among eight leaders at Lorena's event >>
Guadalajara, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Annika Sorenstam chipped in twice on
Thursday, including one for birdie at the last, en route to a four-under 68
and a share of the first-round lead of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Sorenstam, K
Wild send Kolanos to Houston >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Krys Kolanos has been re-assigned to the
Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, the Minnesota Wild announced on
Thursday.
Kolanos, 27, was sent down so the Wild could make room on their roste
MLS Philadelphia set to break ground on new stadium >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With final site preparation complete for MLS
Philadelphia's new soccer-specific stadium, Major League Soccer Commissioner
Don Garber will join team, local and state officials to officially break
ground
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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