11/03/2008 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 star Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, citing fatigue.
"I have decided not to compete on the Masters Cup in Shanghai," the Spaniard said in a written statement. "This is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event and above all, due to the fact of not making possible my will to be with the fans in China and the tournament organizers that always treated me in such special way."
The five-time major champion retired during his quarterfinal match against Russian Nikolay Davydenko at last week's Paris Masters, citing a knee injury.
The 22-year-old Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion. He supplanted the great Roger Federer atop the ATP rankings in August and will finish 2008 as the year-end No. 1.
The exclusive eight-player Masters Cup will get underway Sunday in Shanghai. The top seed now will be the U.S. Open champion and Wimbledon and French Open runner-up Federer. The field will also feature Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic, U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray, Davydenko, Andy Roddick, Aussie Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, and now Frenchman Gilles Simon, who is the beneficiary of Nadal's withdrawal. Tsonga was last week's surprise titlist at the Paris Masters.
The four-time Masters Cup titlist Federer is the reigning two-time champ. He topped David Ferrer in last year's finale at Shanghai's Qi Zhong Stadium.
Murray, Tsonga, del Potro and Simon will all make their Masters Cup debuts next week.
<< Podolski moves closer to Bayern exit
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski has
moved closer to the exit door after revealing his anger at once again starting
a Bundesliga game on the bench.
The Germany international was expected to be draft
<< Report: Fulmer won't return to Tennessee next season
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phillip Fulmer will reportedly not return as
head football coach at Tennessee next season.
The Tennessean cites a high-ranking source within the school's athletic
department in a report on its web sit
<< Boulahrouz facing two-week absence for Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands international Khalid
Boulahrouz looks set to be sidelined for two weeks after aggravating a thigh
injury during Stuttgart's home defeat against Koln.
The former Chelsea defender o
<< Messi involved in spitting controversy
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has become
embroiled in controversy after appearing to spit at Duda during Barcelona's
4-1 victory at Malaga.
The 21-year-old Argentina international was caught by t
Trio of Ducks highlight NHL's Three Stars >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks forwards Ryan Getzlaf, Corey
Perry and Teemu Selanne shared the top of the list as the NHL's 'Three Stars'
for the week ending November 2.
Getzlaf led the NHL with 10 points on two goals
Orton has ankle injury; could be out a month >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith confirmed at
his Monday press conference that quarterback Kyle Orton has a right ankle
injury, but did not elaborate.
"He has an ankle injury and we'll let you know a lit
Dumars rolls the dice with Iverson >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For some reason Detroit Pistons president
of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been intent on breaking up his team
since his club succumbed to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six
games during t
Kjeldsen, Palmer make big gains in rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Soren Kjeldsen and Ryan Palmer won on the
European and PGA Tours respectively over the weekend and made big jumps in
this week Official World Golf Rankings.
Kjeldsen's win jumped him 39 places to 47th
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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