TFC tries to keep unblemished home record against Rapids

Soccer Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC puts its home unbeaten streak on the line on Saturday when they welcome the Colorado Rapids to BMO Field.

TFC has yet to taste defeat at home this season after Dan Gargan rescued a point for the Reds last time out with an 84th-minute equalizer to help them claim a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo.

The result was the third successive draw for Toronto, but it also extended the teams unbeaten streak to seven games, leaving them in third place in the Eastern Conference table.

The game was an ill-tempered affair that featured two TFC players, Julian de Guzman and Amadou Sanyang, both being sent off, meaning that both will miss out on Saturday's game along with defender Emmanuel Gomez, who is out with a knee injury.

One player who could be available to head coach Preki is striker Maicon Santos, who was signed on Friday after being released by Chivas USA earlier this past week.

"We are delighted to welcome Maicon on board," said manager and director of soccer Mo Johnston. "Preki knows this player inside and out, and speaks very highly of him both on and off the field. He's a target man, strong, and packs a very good shot."

TFC will hope that Santos can aid a struggling attack that has produced just one goal in its last three games.

The Rapids are unbeaten in their last six games, but they have drawn their last three, including a 1-1 deadlock with Red Bull New York last time out.

Colorado is currently third in the Western Conference table, but defender Scott Palguta voiced his frustration after last week's result, which came at home.

"When we are at home, that's not a point gained; it's two points lost," he told mlssoccer.com. "We were obviously very dominant and hopefully we can keep that going and maybe next week [against Toronto] make it into a win somehow."

Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy will be kept home because of immigration problems, leaving head coach Gary Smith with a tough decision to make on who will fill the shoes left by Ballouchy, who has scored two goals and assisted on three others in 12 games this season.

Casnogames Soccer Betting News

<< Chargers sign two draft picks
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers announced the signings of third-round draft pick Donald Butler and fifth-rounder Cam Thomas to four-year contracts Friday. Butler starred at Washington as an inside linebacke

<< Panthers sign third-rounder Edwards
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers have signed third-round draft pick Armanti Edwards. Edwards was taken 89th overall in April's draft after a successful four-year run as quarterback at Appalachian State. The Panthers

<< Giants place reliever Runzler on DL, recall Martinez
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants placed reliever Dan Runzler on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with a dislocated left kneecap The 25-year-old left-hander suffered the injury in Thursday's win over the Milwau

<< Hawks sign rookie G Crawford
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have signed rookie guard Jordan Crawford. The Hawks acquired Crawford in a draft night trade from New Jersey last month. The Nets took the Xavier product with the 27th pick. Crawford

<< Fish swims into Newport semis
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Mardy Fish was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner Friday at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The American Fish came from behind to dismiss Canada's Frank Dancevic 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4 on th

Crew square off with Dynamo at Robertson Stadium >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference leading Columbus Crew travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night. The Crew have just two losses this season thanks in large part to

Bucs ink G Vincent >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added some depth to the offensive line position on Friday by signing veteran guard Keydrick Vincent to a two-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 32-year-old spent

Raiders ink two from draft class >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders have signed offensive linemen Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell, two members of the team's 2010 draft class. Veldheer, taken 69th overall in the third round, started 46 games

Rain stops U.S. Women's Open >>
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heavy rainfall and lightning in the area forced the suspension of Friday's second-round play at the U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont. Sophie Gustafson birdied the first hole, her only hole on Friday, to move in fr

Ducks send D Eminger to Rangers >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks have acquired forwards Aaron Voros and Ryan Hillier from the New York Rangers in exchange for nomadic defenseman Steve Eminger. Voros registered three goals and four assists in 41 game

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .