Blues continue homestand, seek first win vs. Red Wings

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues are trying to make their crucial four- game homestand a successful one. However, success isn't something they have had this year versus Detroit.

The playoff-hopeful Blues seek their first win over the Red Wings this season in today's battle at Scottrade Center.

St. Louis enters this game with 70 points, just two back of Edmonton and Dallas for the last two playoff spots in the Western Conference. The Blues began this residency with a 5-2 win over Dallas before handing second-seeded San Jose a 3-1 loss on Thursday.

Andy McDonald posted a goal and one assist to help lead the Blues over the Sharks. Brad Boyes and Barret Jackman registered the other goals for St. Louis, which has won six of eight overall. Chris Mason stopped 24 shots for the win.

Patrik Berglund, who has 39 points this season, missed the San Jose game due to a back injury that has him questionable for today's game.

The Blues' win on Thursday improved them to 18-12-5 as the host and was their fifth win in their last seven games at Scottrade Center. However, they have lost four straight at home versus the Red Wings, who are 14-3-1 with a tie in their last 19 trips to St. Louis.

The Blues have gone winless in four games versus the Red Wings this year, getting outscored 17-7. That includes a 5-0 home loss on March 3.

Leading-goal scorer Marian Hossa hasn't played for Detroit since that shutout win. He crashed head-first into the boards in that game and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher. He has missed the last four contests with a stiff neck/back and bruised knee and leads the Red Wings with 34 goals. Hossa is questionable for this game.

Detroit has split four games since that win over St. Louis. It built a 4-1 lead on Thursday at home versus Calgary, but saw the Flames net four straight goals on the way to an eventual 6-5 shootout win.

Dan Cleary tied the game with 41.4 seconds left for Detroit to force overtime, but Olli Jokinen notched the game-winner in the shootout for Calgary. Nicklas Lidstrom registered a goal and two assists in the setback, while Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the home team.

Pavel Datsyuk collected three helpers and Ty Conklin made 28 saves in the loss.

Detroit and its 97 points lead San Jose by one for the most in the West. The Red Wings are tied with Boston in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

The Red Wings play the first of back-to-back road games today and are 19-10-5 as the guest this year.

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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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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.