Wizards close out trip in Jersey

Basketball Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeast Division-leading Washington Wizards wrap up a three-game road trip when they visit the New Jersey Nets tonight at Continental Airlines Arena.

Washington is 0-2 on the swing. On Sunday, Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves downed the Wizards, 98-94, at the Target Center.

DeShawn Stevenson registered 21 points in the loss for the Wizards, who have lost two straight and four of their last seven games overall. All-Star Gilbert Arenas ended with 20 points for Washington, which shot 7-of-29 from beyond the arc.

On the injury front for Washington, All-Star forward Caron Butler (lower back spasms) is questionable for tonight's contest. Butler did not play against Minnesota and is averaging 20.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 53 games this season.

The Wizards are 10-16 on the road this season. After tonight's game, they will return home for a four-game homestand versus Miami, Atlanta, Golden State and Toronto.

New Jersey, which plays the fourth of a five-game homestand, enters tonight's contest on a two-game winning streak. Vince Carter poured in 40 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out eight assists as the Nets defeated the New York Knicks, 101-92, on Sunday at Continental Airlines Arena.

Mikki Moore added 19 points in the win for the Nets, who have won five of their last eight games overall. Bostjan Nachbar finished with 15 points and 10 boards, while Jason Kidd contributed 11 points and 14 assists in the victory.

The Nets are 16-14 at home this season. They will host the Boston Celtics on Saturday in the finale of the current homestand.

This is the second meeting of the campaign between the clubs. On November 12th, Carter hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into overtime and scored six points in the extra session as the Nets pulled out a 105-93 win over Washington at the Verizon Center.

Washington has lost two straight and 10 of its last 11 at New Jersey. The Nets have won two in a row in the series.

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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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