Underdog Bears

By Tim Sullivan
WagerWeb.com contributing writer

The line has dipped since Sunday night on WagerWeb.com, which means the Super Bowl public, at least early on, is leaning towards the Bears. Sure, they don’t have the sentimental angle. That belongs to Tony Dungy. Sure, the Bears don’t have the explosive offense. That belongs to Peyton Manning.

Maybe it’s the fact that the Bears were the No. 1 seed in the NFC, with the most dominant defense for two-thirds of the season. Who knows, perhaps it’s just the 6.5 points they’re getting. Either way, there are quite a few out there who believe in the Bears.

Now that doesn’t mean Chicago coach Lovie Smith isn’t going to play up the “nobody believes in us” theory. Even if many do believe in them, Smith doesn’t want to hear it. Not yet.

“As far as us being underdogs, if you look at what all the Colts bring to the table I could see why they would make us underdogs,” Smith said. “But we’ve been in that role before, and our guys like the underdog role. I wouldn’t bet against the Bears if I were a betting man.”

Which, of course, he’s not. But it’s worth remembering when it
comes time to head to the betting window. Keep in mind, the Bears used that same motivational ploy last week, when, despite Chicago being a small favorite, most of the country loved the Saints in the NFC title game.

Nevermind that New Orleans was playing the in cold, had never won two straight playoff games and was appearing in its first championship contest. But we digress. Either way, the Bears played up that angle and that worked OK, didn’t it?

So, now it’s onto Miami, where again the Bears will be the second story. And perhaps, that’s warranted. After all, Smith is not Dungy. Rex Grossman is not Manning. Rashied Davis is not Marvin Harrison. Heck, Robbie Gould isn’t
Adam Vinatieri.

“It’s a special time,” Smith said, “and I think just having the two weeks helps you enjoy it more.”

Smith is — and will continue — to say the right things, the politically correct things. But clearly, the Bears will throw out the “disrespect” card behind closed doors. And we’ll see just how far that card will take them next Sunday.

CROWDED BACKFIELD: Jacksonville running back Greg Jones, who missed the entire season with a torn ACL, is back at work and expects to be full-go at training camp in August. Jones is a bruiser from Florida State, a definite jewel on the goal line and quite capable of breaking a few as well.

Problem is, Maurice Jones-Drew
had quite the rookie season, and don’t forget the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, Fred Taylor. But Greg Jones, when healthy, is a quality back. So much so, that Coach Jack Del Rio and Co. may have to consider dealing Taylor, the oldest and most worn down of the group. He’s also the one most likely to attract outside interest.

Clearly, it’s something to monitor during the offseason.

LATE-NIGHT PLEA: Just in case you didn’t think Eagles backup quarterback Jeff Garcia wasn’t going to shop his services around during the free-agency period, he made sure of everyone knew his plans when he announced them on The Late Show with Jay Leno.

“I’ll definitely be testing the waters,” he said. “I’ve got to see
what’s out there.”

He’s sure to find something.

Chase Changes

By Brit Fryer
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s hard for Kasey Kahne to argue with NASCAR’s changes to the points system and Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Kahne won a series-high five races for Evernham Motorsports before the 2006 Chase ever began, but he entered the postseason in 10th. Had Monday’s announcement been in place five months ago, Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge would have started the Chase first with 10 points to spare.

“Winning is what the sport is all about,” NASCAR CEO
Brian France said on the annual media tour. “Nobody likes to see drivers content to finish just in the top 10. We want our sport — especially the Chase — to be more about
winning.”

Starting with the Feb. 18 Daytona 500, race winners throughout the 36-race season will receive 185 points — a five-point increase. Counting the five-point bonuses available for leading at least one lap and leading the most laps, a winner now can earn a maximum of 195 points, creating a potential maximum of 25 points between the first- and second-place finishers.

Then comes the Chase, which now will consist of the top 12 drivers rather than 10. After race No. 26, all 12 drivers will have their point totals reset to 5,000, and they’ll then be seeded based on the number of victories amassed that season, each of which carries a 10-point bonus.

Bobby
Labonte, the series champion in 2000, is slowly coming around to the whole Chase thing.

“I can honestly say I didn’t like the deal three years ago when they started doing it,” Labonte said, “but I think it’s like anything else. You grow accustomed to it and it’s OK now. If you win more during the season that puts you in different places for the final 10. I think it’s all good.”
OUCH: Kevin Harvick (+1,200 to win the Nextel Cup on WagerWeb.com) let Teresa Earnhardt have it Tuesday.

Earnhardt operates Dale Earnhardt Inc., the Nextel Cup team founded by her late husband Dale Earnhardt, who died in the 2001 Daytona 500. As usual, Harvick pulled no punches, calling Teresa Earnhardt an absentee owner.

“It’s hard when you
have what I call a deadbeat owner that doesn’t come to the race track,” Harvick said during a stop at Richard Childress Racing.

“You always see Richard Childress. You always see Chip Ganassi. All these owners, they all come to the race track. It’s not just a money pit that somebody says, ‘Well, I can make money off of Dale Jr. I can make money off of Dale Earnhardt.’ ”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Teresa’s stepson, drives for DEI and is involved in a tense contract negotiation.
MORE CHANGES: The Nextel All-Star Challenge underwent a bit of a facelift. Four 20-lap segments, with no inverted restarts and various requirements scattered about, will decide this May’s $1 million race at Lowe’s Motor
Speedway. And two drivers — not one — will transfer from the Nextel Open.
NUTS AND BOLTS: Petty Enterprises, based in the Level Cross, N.C., since 1949, will move to Salisbury in the next year or so. … Toyota plans to purchase 89 acres in North Carolina’s Rowan County for a NASCAR support facility. … After an interview during preseason testing, Jeff Gordon found himself locked inside the Daytona garage area and climbed a fence to get out.

P.J. Steps Up

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

A trade for Pau Gasol hasn’t developed beyond the discussion stage, but apparently Chicago power forward P.J.
Brown has been inspired.

After all, he would be the odd man out of the starting lineup if the Bulls did acquire Gasol.

Brown put in his two cents and then some Thursday night against the torrid Dallas Mavericks. He scored six points down the stretch and held Most Valuable Player candidate Dirk Nowitzki to just 7 of 22 shooting in a 96-85 victory in Chicago.

The Mavericks had entered on an eight-game winning streak and having won 21 of their last 22.

“Things were rolling and the ball felt good,” Brown told the Associated Press. “Sometimes you have to want to take the shot. I got in a nice rhythm and after that I just kept shooting. It was just one of those nights.

“I didn’t think we needed much from me on the offensive end. Most important was for me to stay with Dirk and not let him
have a monster night.”

The Bulls, who are second in the NBA at defensive field goal percentage, also held Josh Howard in check. Nowitzki’s frontcourt mate connected on just 4 of 20 shots. The Mavericks hit a season-worst 31.2 percent from the field.

Dallas (35-9) no longer boasts the best record in the league. That distinction belongs to Phoenix (34-8), which will shoot for its 16th consecutive win Friday night at battered Milwaukee. WagerWeb.com lists the Suns as rare (11 points) double-figure road favorites.

UNFAIR FOR TELFAIR? Boston guard and former highly coveted high school standout Sebastian Telfair has taken another step back in his NBA career.

Telfair lost his
starting job after Christmas and is now a third-string point guard with one of the worst teams in the league. He has averaged four minutes of playing time in the last three games and has dropped behind emerging Delonte West and Rajon Rondo in the rotation.

West is averaging 21.7 points and 6.3 assists in those three games while Rondo is contributing 6.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists off the bench.

The Telfair saga continues Friday night in Toronto, where the Celtics are 9-point underdogs, according to WagerWeb.com.

DRIBBLES: Is it more frustrating to be blown out or to lose at the buzzer? The New Jersey Nets are finding out these days. They suffered their third consecutive one-point defeat, 102-101, at the Los Angeles Clippers
on a 3-point bomb by Cuttino Mobley with 0.6 seconds remaining. The Nets have fallen behind first-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division. … The top seven teams in the Eastern Conference sit within three games of each other. Current top seed Detroit hosts second-seeded Washington Friday night. WagerWeb.com lists the Pistons as 5.5-point favorites.

Hey, Brother

By Tim Sullivan
WagerWeb.com contributing writer

Eli Manning is a world away from where his brother, Peyton, is. Sure, they both made the playoffs, but Peyton won three games and advanced to Super Bowl XLI. Eli? He was gone, it seemed, before the tournament even started.

But in New York, a story’s a story. And this week — with not much going on except the dysfunctional Knicks losing games left and right in the Big Apple — Eli’s thoughts on his brother’s run became one of those stories.

So the Giants cooperated, and he graciously spoke with the media.

“I was excited for Peyton. I know everything he’s been through, being another player who is going through the same things and has been to the playoffs and been disappointed,” Eli said. “I’ve only been twice, and he’s been a number of times and has been through it. It’s tough. The road they took to get to the Super Bowl, having to beat Kansas City, Baltimore, who was
playing about as good as anybody, and New England, who is as good in the playoffs as anybody. To win those three games and to get to this position, it’s a tough deal, and I’m just excited for him. I know how hard he’s worked.”

Eli works just as hard, or so we think. It would help, of course, if his receivers — Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress — went through the same offseason program with him. Perhaps a better chemistry would evolve. But those two combustible parts choose to train at the University of Miami, while Manning, for the most part, works with backups in New Jersey.

“I still have a lot of time to try to get my opportunity to get down there,” Eli said of making the big game. “I want to be on the other side and not have to be down in Miami going to events and things like that.
I want to be in the hotel studying film and getting ready to play for a championship.”

He may get his chance. It may not be with Tom Coughlin at the helm, but he may get there nonetheless. But he won’t do it alone. The Giants need a clear-cut workhorse running back to replace Tiki Barber. They have Brandon Jacobs, but he’s more unproven than Eli is. They need a more reliable secondary. And they need a healthy group of linebackers.

Right now, they have none of that.

“That’s what you play for,” Eli said. “That’s the only thing that’s on players’ minds as they play through the season, is to try to win games, to try to get into the playoffs and then, from there, you try to get to the Super Bowl and win a championship.”

Peyton has his opportunity against the Bears and he’s a 6.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com to cash it in.

Eli, well, he has to wait.

MIKE’S MESSY MIX IN JACKSONVILLE: Mike Shula didn’t get the Dolphins’ head coaching job, but he made it to the NFL nonetheless. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio brought Shula in to be the quarterbacks coach this week, and immediately, he has his work cut out for him.

Shula, of course, is no stranger to messy situations considering the probation-laden program he assumed at Alabama. But what he’ll do with David Garrard, who started 10 games last season, and Byron Leftwich, who started
six? Who knows.

EXTRA POINTS: Safety Rodney Harrison may not fit in the Patriots’ plans next season. He is oft-injured, he is 34, and he stands to make $2.7 million next season. That’s a recipe for a release when Bill Belichick is your head coach. … Despite rumors to the contrary, disgruntled Raiders wide receiver Jerry Porter appears to be in the mix for next season as Coach Lane Kiffin reworks the offense. Porter demanded a trade during the brief Art Shell Era, Part 2.

FA Cup Fourth Round

By Tim Robertson
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Birmingham City will take aim at another Premiership scalp in this weekend’s FA
Cup fourth round.

Having humiliated Newcastle in a 5-1 win at St James’ Park, the Blues host Reading on Saturday, and despite what the league table says Royals manager Steve Coppell believes his team should not travel to the midlands with the idea that they are facing a Championship side.

Birmingham, hit hard by injury, went down last season but look like coming straight back up as they sit second in the Championship with two games in hand on leaders Derby.

“If you look at the season they had last year injuries determined their season,” Coppell said. “If they had had all their personnel available they would still be a Premiership club.

“I would see them as a Premiership club even though, at the moment, they are outside it. And given their position in the league, they are rehearsing for the Premiership now.

“Just
look at the money they have spent since last summer. They have spent significant amounts of money mainly on strikers and they have serious intent. They want to play in the top flight and they have invested to do that.”

Indeed, Steve Bruce demonstrated his determination to push for the Premiership on Friday when he insisted that West Ham target Matthew Upson is not for sale.

Bruce has already rejected bids of £4 million and £6 million for the want-away defender, and told West Ham not to bother bidding again.

“He is not going, full stop,” Bruce said. “Whether it is £8million, £9million, £10million, it wouldn’t matter.”

With the new TV deals kicking in next season, Bruce knows that a return to the Premiership would be worth far more to Birmingham than any fee they could get for Upson now.

Birmingham won this fixture in the
Cup after a replay last season, but are well-fancied to do the job in one go this time at home.

Bruce will field the same team that embarrassed Newcastle, while Reading are without defender Ibrahima Sonko and striker Kevin Doyle.

WagerWeb cannot split them, offering both at +150, but it is tempting to back Birmingham to do the job at St Andrews.

Another Premiership club that has Championship opposition is Blackburn, who must travel south to face Luton Town, managed by former player Mike Newell.

Newell was a member for the Rovers team that won the Premiership title in 1995, but he does not intend to do his old employers any favours on Saturday afternoon.

“We had a great few years there and we had great spirit,” Newell said of his time in Lancashire. “A lot of the players were at the top of their game and a lot of them went
on to be even better than they were at Blackburn.

“That time is something to look back on when you finish playing, which I have done, but it won’t give us any advantage at all on Saturday.”
Luton are at the wrong end of the Championship, and unlike Birmingham, do not have the sort of winning form that might worry Blackburn.

But Newell’s teams are nothing if not battle-hardened, and with Blackburn now minus skipper Robbie Savage through injury, the +300 odds being offered in favour of Luton do seem a little generous.

Middlesbrough face a potential banana skin as they head to high-flying League One side Bristol City.

Gareth Southgate’s team are nothing if not unpredictable. Quite where last week’s 5-1 win over Bolton came from, no one quite knows, nor would anyone have been too surprised if that scoreline had been reversed.

Whichever version of Boro turns up at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon will face a man in form as City striker Enoch Showumni has scored in each of his last five games.

The 24-year-old came into the game late but is blossoming after three years as a professional.

“He is not the finished article yet but he has been performing very well recently,” manager Gary Johnson said. “He is on a good run of form and hopefully that will continue against Middlesbrough.”

City will have a sell-out crowd cheering them on in hope of a win that would be surely the biggest upset of the fourth round if they pull it off, but they must overcome a confident Boro team and odds of -110 in favour of the Premiership club.

In London, Tottenham will look to rebound from the disappointment of Wednesday’s 2-2 Carling Cup draw with Arsenal when they face
Southend at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had led 2-0 against what was effectively an Arsenal youth team, but they were lucky to hold on for a draw by the end.

Southend were one of their victims early in the Carling Cup, and the Shrimpers will return to London intent on revenge having only lost that last game to a late and distinctly offside Jermaine Defoe goal in extra time.

Southend are battling relegation from the Championship, but far from seeing this game as a distraction, manager Steve Tilson is happy to have a game where the pressure is all on the opposition.

“You can’t ask for anymore than to test yourself against Premiership opposition and we will travel down in high spirits looking to cause an upset,” he said.
“We played ever so well in our last meeting but I’m sure it will be even tougher for us on Saturday.”

Spurs are offered at -450 on WagerWeb.com with Southend at +900, but the last meeting suggested things might not be so straightforward.

There are also two all-Premiership meetings to consider as Portsmouth travel to Manchester United and West Ham host Watford.

It’s difficult to dispute United’s status as overwhelming favourites (they are offered at -350) to beat Pompey given their home form this season, but the other game is harder to call.

WagerWeb.com has West Ham as favourites at -125, but Watford will be buoyed by Tuesday’s win over Blackburn and – like Southend – will seek to enjoy a day away from the relegation scrap.