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07/10/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas travels to take on Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer action at Qwest Field on Sunday night.
Dallas (5-2-6) has been on an impressive run as of late, winning three straight while losing just once in its last nine league fixtures.
A big part of that run has been because of the strong play of the versatile Heath Pearce, who has played both defense and midfield this season.
"I wouldn't say there's one particular thing," Pearce told mlssoccer.com when asked what has contributed to the strong play of the Hoops. "We've been playing well the entire year. We've had a string of a number of good games this season."
He did eventually elaborate, saying the confidence the team has in each player on the field has been a strength of the club.
"Its a really beneficial thing late in the game when you don't have to worry about guys around you and you're able to focus on getting the result, because you know the guys around you are going to hold their own weight and support you."
As well as Dallas has been playing, Seattle has been struggling. The second- year MLS club has lost three straight while winning just one of its last six.
The latest loss was 3-1 at the Los Angeles galaxy last weekend.
"We got beat by a better team simple as that nothing more," Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller told his club's website. "That is what we need to strive to do bring that energy bring that ability. We found a way to keep the score respectable and now we need to figure out the rest. We are not at the level we need to be at and obviously we need to improve drastically."
The Sounders (4-8-3) will have to find a way to do that without the services of attacker Freddie Ljungberg, who is not expected to play with an injury. Also out with injuries are midfielders Brad Evans and Michael Fucito and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso is questionable with a quad strain.
FC Dallas will only be without the services of backup goalkeeper Dario Sala because of a calf strain.
<< Stricker sets 54-hole mark on PGA Tour
Silvis, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker has set the 54-hole scoring
record on the PGA Tour.
Stricker fired a nine-under 62 at the John Deere Classic on Saturday to finish
three rounds at 25-under 188. That broke the old record of 189 es
<< Fish to meet Rochus in Newport final
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mardy Fish was a semifinal winner Saturday at
the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
The fifth-seeded Fish beat British qualifier Richard Bloomfield 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
to reach his second ATP final of the seas
<< Rangers activate Lee prior to debut
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers made several roster moves
prior to Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, including the
activation of pitcher Cliff Lee, whom the team acquired on Friday.
Lee, a 2010 Al
<< Indians designate C Redmond, bring up Gimenez
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have designated
veteran catcher Mike Redmond for assignment and recalled catcher/infielder
Chris Gimenez from Triple-A Columbus.
Redmond was hitting .206 with five runs batte
Twins' Morneau to miss All-Star Game >>
Detroit, MI (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins first baseman
Justin Morneau will miss Tuesday's All-Star Game in Anaheim as he continues
to suffer from concussion-like symptoms.
Morneau was accidentally kneed in the he
Former Sooner great Daryl Hunt dies at 53 >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Oklahoma linebacker Daryl Hunt has
passed away at the age of 53.
The Oklahoman reports Hunt passed away of an apparent heart attack some time
over the weekend.
The two-time All-American played
Mariners add Smoak to active roster >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mariners announced on Saturday that first
baseman Justin Smoak has been added to the team's 25-man major league roster.
Smoak, acquired in the deal that sent pitcher Cliff Lee to Texas, will wear
unifo
Tigers blast four homers to extend Twins' woes >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez and Johnny
Damon each hit a home run to support six solid innings from Jeremy Bonderman
in Detroit's 7-4 win over Minnesota in the middle meeting of a three-game set.
Cabr
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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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)
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