Thompson joined by Chappell in Cox Classic lead

Golf Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson carded a six-under 65 Friday to remain tied for the lead after 36 holes of the Cox Classic.

Thompson, who shared the first-round lead with Steven Bowditch, finished two rounds at 14-under-par 128. Kevin Chappell fired his second straight seven- under 64 to join Thompson atop the leaderboard.

Bob May, who lost to Tiger Woods in a playoff at the 2000 PGA Championship, fired a 63 to jump into a share third place at minus-12. He was joined there by Bowditch, who managed a four-under 67 in the second round.

Thompson parred his first three holes before picking up five shots over the next seven holes. After birdies on the fourth and sixth, he rolled in three straight birdie efforts from the eighth to get to minus-13.

The 31-year-old parred four straight from the 11th. Thompson got to 14-under with a birdie on the par-four 15th at Champions Run.

Thompson stumbled to a bogey on the 16th. but atoned for that mistake with an eagle on the par-five 17th. He closed with a bogey at the last to end at minus-14.

"It was very similar to yesterday, Thompson stated. "It was extremely stress- free. I felt completely comfortable both days in my skin. I never felt antsy or jumpy, those feelings you get when you're in the lead and that was pretty reassuring to know that."

Chappell, who is fourth on the Nationwide Tour money list, was even-par through eight holes with a birdie on the fourth, a bogey on No. 8 and six pars.

The 24-year-old made a 12-foot eagle putt on the short par-four ninth and followed with a birdie on the 10th to get to 10-under.

Chappell got within two of the lead thanks to birdies on the 13th and 15th. He closed with birdies on the final two holes to join Thompson in the lead.

"At this point, you have to keep doing your own thing and put yourself in position," said Chappell, who won the Fresh Express Classic earlier this year. "I tried to give myself opportunities and see where that put me at the end of the day."

David Mathis and A.J. Elgert both fired seven-under 64s Friday to move into a share of the fifth at 11-under-par 131. They were joined there by Scott Gardiner (67).

Amateur Morgan Hoffmann, who tied for ninth last week, carded a four-under 67 and headlines a group of nine players tied for eighth at minus-10.

NOTES: The cut fell at six-under-par 136 with 63 players moving on to the weekend...Those 63 are bunched within eight shots heading to the final two rounds...The cut at minus-six is the lowest in tourney history bettering the cut of minus-five, which occurred four times...Leading money winner Jamie Lovemark made the cut on the number, while last week's winner, D.J. Brigman, missed the cut by two strokes.

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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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