11/21/2008 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bullish Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster insists he has never considered resigning despite the club's inconsistent form leading to speculation that he is close to the sack.
Real's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, held a press conference at the beginning of the week in which he publicly backed the under-fire coach despite their disappointing form in both La Liga and the Champions League.
Last week's Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Segunda Division opposition was reported to be the final nail in Schuster's coffin, but the German coach has vowed to fight on in the Bernabeu hot-seat.
Speaking ahead of the must-win weekend meeting with Recreativo, he said: "I have not thought about going because there is no reason to.
"I believe I have the support of the club and that is all I need to remain calm and to continue doing my job.
"If it was up to the press then, yes (I would have been sacked), but I think that the club want me to stay. I laugh about some of the stories that have come out."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Gallas captaincy in doubt
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsene Wenger is facing mounting pressure
to strip William Gallas of the Arsenal captaincy following the outspoken
Frenchman's latest verbal attack on his teammates.
Gallas, 31, who has previously
<< NBA Northwest: Nuggets doing just fine sans A.I.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl certainly got some
things of his husky chest regarding departed All-Star guard Allen Iverson.
Karl vehemently spewed his feelings about Iverson's me-first mentality and how
the superst
<< Motherwell hoping to rediscover scoring touch
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been nearly 300 minutes since
Motherwell has scored a goal in league play, and the team will try to snap
that streak on Saturday at home against Hibernian.
Mark McGhee's Motherwell put tog
<< Juventus aims to keep momentum going against Inter
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus carries a five-game winning streak in
Serie A play into its top-three showdown against Inter Milan on Saturday at
the San Siro with the two sides separated by only three points.
It looked like th
Milito won't rule out Real >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Genoa striker Diego Milito is refusing to
rule out a potential January move to Real Madrid.
Milito has already been the subject of a rejected approach from the Spanish
giants, who are keen to land a ne
Ze Roberto to turn to religion when career is over >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich's Ze Roberto is planning to
turn to religion when he retires from professional football at the end of the
season.
The 34-year-old Brazilian has already confirmed his intention to hang up
Nalbandian gives Argentina 1-0 lead >>
Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008 Davis Cup final
commenced Friday, as David Nalbandian gave host Argentina a 1-0 lead with a
lopsided victory over Spaniard David Ferrer in the best-of-five affair at Mar
del Plata.
Th
AHL announces rescheduled game >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League game between the
Springfield Falcons and the Worcester Sharks, originally scheduled for Nov.
15, has been rescheduled for Dec. 10 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass, the
league
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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