It doesn’t get easier for the Redskins
It’s difficult to figure out the impact Sean Taylor’s death has had on the Washington Redskins, but one thing is for sure: the Redskins are on a negative roll entering tonight’s game against the Chicago Bears.
Washington, listed as a three-point home favorite over Chicago, has lost four games in a row and has covered the spread only once since Oct. 7.
The Redskins are also 1-7-1 against the spread in their last nine games as a home favorite and this season, they rank among the NFL’s worst in scoring, averaging only 19.1 points a game.
Makes one wonder if Washington owner Daniel Snyder regrets his decision to lure Joe Gibbs out of retirement to coach.
But remarkably, the 5-7 Redskins are still in the hunt for the playoffs and they can boost their position with a victory over the 5-7 Bears tonight.
Chicago, which failed to cover in a 21-16 loss to the New York Giants last week, is 5-13 against the spread in its last 18 regular-season games under Coach Lovie Smith.
According to theSpread .com’s betting chart, Chicago has received 59% of the bets against the spread this week and at wagerline.com, the Bears have picked up 54.94% of the action.
Pro basketball
Odds to win the NBA Finals have moved with the Orlando Magic making the biggest jump, according to VegasInsider.com. After opening at 40-1, the Magic is now listed at 10-1, which places Orlando at the same level as the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons.
The San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns are even as favorites at 3-1, followed by the Boston Celtics at 7-2 and Utah Jazz at 8-1.
The Lakers’ odds have improved from 30-1 to 25-1, and the Clippers have gone from 35-1 to 75-1.
College football
The odds for the Bowl Championship Series championship game opened with Louisiana State as a 4 1/2 -point favorite over Ohio State.
That line already has climbed to as high as six points at some sportsbooks.
The Sugar Bowl also had a line increase, with Georgia moving from an eight-point favorite to 9 1/2 over Hawaii.
Then there’s the Rose Bowl. USC was placed as a 14-point favorite to start the week, but the spread immediately dropped to 13 and has remained steady since.
It will be interesting to see if there are any more major line movements as the bowl season gets closer.
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