From The BetUS.com Locker Room

For those NFL football bettors itching for the 2010-2011 season to begin, BetUS.com Sportsbook has some intriguing Week 1 lines for the experienced bettor to take advantage of. NFL Football Season Week 1 Begins Thursday, September, 9, 2010. There is a full slate of 16 NFL preseason games on tap for Thursday, including two involving unbeaten teams: Baltimore at St. Louis, and San Diego at San Francisco. The 3-0 Ravens have dispatched the Panthers, Redskins, and Giants in consecutive outings, but they're 3-point underdogs for Thursday's contest against the 2-1 Rams (with the total at 38). The 3-0 Niners have beaten the Colts, Vikings, and Raiders so far in the preseason, and they're 3.5-point favorites against the 1-2 Chargers on Thursday night (with the total at 36). The Ravens game starts at 8pm ET; the Niners start at 10pm. Elsewhere around the NFL on Thursday it's Buffalo at Detroit (-4.5), New England at the Giants (-3), the Jets at Philadelphia (-1.5), Atlanta at Jacksonville (-3), Carolina at Pittsburgh (-5.5), Denver at Minnesota (-4.5), Chicago (-3) at Cleveland, Tampa Bay at Houston (-2.5), Miami at Dallas (-3.5), New Orleans at Tennessee (-7.5), Green Bay at Kansas City (-5.5), Seattle at Oakland (-3.5), Washington at Arizona (-5.5), and Cincinnati (-6.5) at Indianapolis. The Colts sit with the Chiefs and Bears as the only winless team so far in the preseason; Indy has fallen to the Niners, Bills, and Packers. NFL Betting Breakdown – NFC East This is easily the NFL’s most rivalry-riddled division, with each team and their fan base hating on each other even more each time they play. NFL Betting - AFC East It came as no surprise that the New England Patriots won the AFC East in the 2009 NFL betting season, but sudden rushes from within the division have painted Tom Brady in to a grizzly corner. They'll have to sweat the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. NFL Divisional Betting Breakdown – NFC North The uncertainty of this division currently lies squarely on theshoulders of one Brett Favre, who for the umpteenth year in a row has decided to leave the fate of his football career to the very last minute, leaving the Minnesota Vikings and the NFC North Division in a state of flux. NFL Betting Breakdown AFC North Thanks to the rise of the Cincinnati Bengals – along with the perennial excellence of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens – the AFC North turned out to be one of the most competitive divisions in the entire NFL betting last season. Football Betting - NFC South The New Orleans Saints are the pro football betting faves to win the NFC South this season but the underdog Atlanta Falcons can pose a serious threat to the defending Super Bowl champs. Or…can they? Pro Football Odds - AFC South The Colts are the bona fide favorites once again in the AFC South, and for good reason. QB Peyton Manning is still probably good for 4,000 yards and at least 25 touchdown passes, and when this offense is clicking, no one can stop it. Football Betting Odds - NFC West Will the Arizona Cardinals switching starting quarterbacks from the now retired Kurt Warner to the hot tub, beer and breast loving Matt Leinart end the Cards' run as the kings of the NFC West? NFL Betting Breakdown – AFC West No AFC West team has won five consecutive division titles since the Oakland Raiders accomplished the feat from 1972-1976, but the San Diego Chargers will be going all out in 2010 as they try to tie Oakland's division record

There are four games on the American League schedule for Thursday, with Oakland at the Yankees, Boston at Baltimore, Cleveland at Seattle, and Detroit at Minnesota. Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.58 ERA) is expected to get the ball for the Tigers in that last matchup, while Scott Baker (12-9, 4.55 ERA) counters for the Twins. Righthander Verlander got stuck with a no-decision against the Blue Jays in his last trip to the mound despite giving up just two runs on five hits over his eight innings of work. Righthander Baker is coming off a win over Seattle in which he gave up two runs in his 6 2-3 innings. The National League has just two games on tap for Thursday, with Philadelphia at Colorado and the Mets at Atlanta. Johan Santana (10-9, 3.02 ERA) is slated to take on Tim Hudson (15-5, 2.24 ERA) in that Mets/Braves matchup. Lefthander Santana has lost three straight starts, and he also fell to the Braves back on August 2 (four runs over seven innings of work). Righthander Hudson dazzled the Marlins last time out, holding them to just one run over seven innings while fanning 13 batters. The Braves are 8-2 in Hudson's last 10 outings, and he was the winning pitcher on August 2 against the Mets.

From The Bodog Beat

There are 18 college football games on the schedule for Thursday, including seven with lines from the oddsmakers: Southern Miss vs. South Carolina (-13.5), Marshall vs. Ohio State (-28.5), Northern Illinois vs. Iowa State (-4.5), Pittsburgh vs. Utah (-3), Minnesota (-3) vs. Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic vs. UAB (-15), and Southern Cal (-21.5) vs. Hawaii. The Trojans come into the year at No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll, but they are ineligible for the postseason because of sanctions handed down by the NCAA. Miami Hurricanes appears poised to take another big step forward in 2010. The Miami Hurricanes have yet to even win a bowl game under fourth-year coach Randy Shannon, but there's no question this team is on the rise following last year's 9-4 record, UM's most wins since 2005. And if things bounce right, the Canes could not only be ACC contenders but also national title contenders this season Notre Dame has a new football coach When the Irish lost their final four games last season to finish 6-6, it was a foregone conclusion that Weis would be out. In is former Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, who is charged with turning around a storied program that produced a combined 16-21 record the past three years. FSU has gone to a bowl game for a record 28 years in a row. It's a new era in Tallahassee as the Florida State Seminoles open the season without legendary coach Bobby Bowden on the sideline for the first time since 1975 2010 College Football Outlook: Coaching Changes The 2010 college football outlook wouldn't be complete without examining some of this year's key coaching changes. More NCAA College Football Previews Click Here

UFC - MMA NEWS FROM BetOnline.com

MMA News and Picks from BetOnline.com While the rematch between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar at UFC 118 will ultimately decide who reigns over the lightweight division, fans of UFC betting know the fight between Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian has just as many important implications for the future of the lightweight division. Maynard is the only man to have beaten the current champion Edgar, yet a title shot has eluded him thus far. It is expected that the winner of the fight between he and Florian will fight the winner of the Penn-Edgar rematch for the title shortly down the line. This presents some interesting match-up possibilities. Should Penn win the rematch, and Maynard prevail over Florian, we'll see an interesting match-up between two lightweights who have trained together. While it has been some time since Maynard trained with Penn in Hawaii, the familiarity adds an interesting dimension to a fight that's already an interesting style match-up. Maynard is a juggernaut of a wrestler, and probably has the ability to put Penn on his back at some point - but once there, can he stave off submission attempts? Penn would no doubt be the most threatening opponent on the ground that Maynard has faced. Wins by Penn and Florian create a less attractive situation, with a rematch that many fans aren't currently interested in. Because Penn has already finished Florian, there is the perception that any potential rematch would not be particularly competitive. However, if Florian could finish Maynard in dominating fashion, this sentiment is likely to change with online sports betting fans, and a rematch between the two could be sold as competitive. Meanwhile, match-ups between Edgar and Florian or Maynard are appealing - especially given Maynard's win over Edgar. If the current champion can defy the odds and get a dominant win over Penn, a rematch between he and Maynard becomes much more attractive.

Emory Healthcare 500 Preview

The drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will return from a one-week break on September 5 to compete in the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the series' last event, the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21. David Reutimann finished second in that race, while Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Top 5. Ryan Newman, Juan Montoya, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Matt Kenseth also picked up Top-10 results at Bristol. Jeff Gordon was 11th, Carl Edwards was 12th, Kevin Harvick was 14th, Jeff Burton was 16th, Tony Stewart was 27th, Denny Hamlin was 34th, and Jimmie Johnson was 35th. Harvick, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Hamlin, Stewart, Burton, Kenseth, Johnson, Kurt Busch, Biffle, and Bowyer all sit in Chase spots with two more races to go before the cut is made. McMurray sits in 13th place in the standings, 100 points back of Bowyer.

There's one Canadian Football League game on the schedule for Friday, with Calgary at British Columbia. The Stampeders (6-1 SU, 5-2 ATS) head into this matchup riding a four-game winning streak, while the Lions (1-6 SU, 2-5 ATS) have been tagged with a loss in each of their past six contests. Oddsmakers have Calgary listed as a 6-point road favorite for Friday night's matchup, with the total for the game set at 52 points. The WNBA's Western Conference Finals tip off on Thursday night with Phoenix at Seattle. The Mercury and Storm both swept their first-round playoff series last week; Phoenix knocked off San Antonio 92-73 in Game 2 of their set, while Seattle is coming off an 81-66 Game 2 win over Los Angeles. The oddsmakers have the Storm pegged as the 6-point home favorites for Thursday's matchup, with the total for the contest at 178.5............ Read More at BetUS Sports Locker Room