Vikings-Saints: Great way to get going

Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 -

Maybe this time Brett Favre won't get picked off with victory in his grasp.

In as juicy a season opener as the NFL could provide, Favre marches the Minnesota Vikings into New Orleans on Thursday night for a reprise of January's NFC championship game.

The Saints and their long trod-upon fans get the opportunity to celebrate the franchise's first Super Bowl title, then the New Orleans defense tries to batter Favre the way it did in the 31-28 overtime win that sent the former Aints to the Super Bowl.

Favre sort of retired in the offseason before having left ankle surgery in May, then balked again about returning to Minnesota when the recovery was slower than he wanted.

But retirements never really last with the 40-year-old quarterback, and he's back behind center, making the Vikings one of the conference favorites.

The Saints are 4 1/2-point choices in this one. It should be a lights-out shootout if Favre still has the touch and Minnesota can protect him. The Saints don't have any such questions about their offense, led by Drew Brees throwing to a deep assortment of wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.

This could be the most emotional game in the Louisiana Superdome since the Saints returned a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Yes, even more emotional than the game Favre gave away 7 1/2 months ago.

The result?

SAINTS 35-28

Miami (minus 2) at Buffalo

Beware the road favorite early in the season? Not in this matchup, where Miami going to Orchard Park late in the season would be an equalizer, but not in September.

BEST BET: Dolphins 21, Bills 10

Baltimore (plus 3) at New York Jets (Monday night)

The Jets talk about Super Bowls. The Ravens play like a team headed to a Super Bowl.

UPSET SPECIAL: RAVENS, 17-13

Dallas (minus 3) at Washington

Is Donovan McNabb still haunted by visions of the Dallas defense after moving from Philly to DC? His last two games with the Eagles were lopsided losses to the Cowboys. This should be closer.

COWBOYS, 20-16

Cincinnati (plus 6) at New England

Fans of playmaking wideouts have to love a matchup of T.O. and Ochocinco against Randy Moss and a stunningly fit Wes Welker coming off major knee surgery.

PATRIOTS, 31-28

Indianapolis (minus 3) at Houston

Concerns about the offensive line and the defense as a whole in Indy are offset by the Colts' dominance of this rivalry. Peyton Manning heads for a fifth MVP trophy.

COLTS 30-20

Green Bay (pick) at Philadelphia

Are these teams headed in opposite directions? Green Bay has a chance to be special this year, while the Eagles are in something of a transition.

PACKERS 21-14

Atlanta (pick) at Pittsburgh

First match of the critical four-game stretch for the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger. Can the Steelers at least go 2-2 in that span? Tough way to start.

FALCONS, 14-10

San Francisco (minus 1) at Seattle

Under normal circumstances, Pete Carroll gets his players all fired up. In his return as an NFL head coach, the Seahawks could take off over Puget Sound by themselves.

SEAHAWKS, 21-20

San Diego (minus 5 1/2) at Kansas City (Monday night)

Chargers could be vulnerable - in another division. But this won't be a rout.

CHARGERS 22-17

Carolina (plus 7) at New York Giants

Panthers tend to play very well in Meadowlands against Giants, but Big Blue is officially opening Big Gray - the New Meadowlands Stadium (until a sponsor claims naming rights to the $1.6 billion venue).

GIANTS, 17-16

Detroit (plus 7) at Chicago

So tempting to go with Lions here against a troubled Bears squad. Detroit's last road win was in October 2007 - at Soldier Field.

LIONS, 20-7

Cleveland (plus 1) at Tampa Bay

Not so tempting with the Browns in matchup of coaches on the hot seat.

BUCCANEERS, 10-6

Denver (plus 1 1/2) at Jacksonville

How much action does Tim Tebow get in his hometown in his NFL debut? Not enough to make a difference.

JAGUARS, 13-10

Oakland (plus 7) at Tennessee

Titans believe they are ready to make noise again after a streaky 2009. Better start with a W here.

TITANS, 23-17

Arizona (minus 3 1/2) at St. Louis

Cardinals suddenly seem like Team Turmoil. They're still far too good for Rams.

CARDINALS, 20-3Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Snadbox Football Betting News

<< Aaron `saddened' by Bonds, Clemens steroid stories
NEW YORK (AP) -Hank Aaron's verdict on baseball's steroid scandal: ``Saddened.''Aaron, long reluctant to weigh in too strongly on the stories involving steroids and baseball, said Tuesday he'll keep sticking with that tact in the cases of Roger Clem

<< Cardinals shoot for needed series win in Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took a lot longer than expected, but Milwaukee reliever Trevor Hoffman finally picked up his 600th career save. The St. Louis Cardinals would have preferred that he waited a few more days. The Cardinals will try to rebo

<< Bruins host Cardinal in Pac-10 opener
Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Stanford Cardinal kicks off its Pac-10 Conference slate against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Stanford vaulted into the national rankings following a convincing 52-17 victory over Sacramen

<< Traditional national powers collide in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the premier matchups on the 2010 college football docket takes place in Tuscaloosa this weekend, as the top- ranked and defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide square off against the 18th-ranked

<< Spartans face another uphill battle in bout with Badgers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Spartans continue their early- season trek through some of the most treacherous waters imaginable as a week after taking on the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, they head north to bat

No. 21 Tigers, Bulldogs feature potent offenses >>
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -In one of the ugliest games in recent college football history, Auburn and Mississippi State punted, fumbled and stumbled their way to a 3-2 finish in 2008 that made both schools cringe.Auburn won - on the scoreboard.But real

Dolphins sign Clifton Smith >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have signed former Pro Bowl return specialist Clifton Smith, who spent the previous two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith has played 20 games in his NFL career and was Pro Bo

CFL Previews - September 10-12 - Week Eleven >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CALGARY STAMPEDERS (8-1) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (2-7) DATE & TIME: Friday, September 10, 9:00 p.m. (et). GAME NOTES: Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as

Serbia knocks Spain out of Worlds >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milos Teodosic drilled a long three- pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining to lift Serbia to a 92-89 victory over Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Spain trailed throu

In the FCS Huddle: Coaches at dropped programs regroup >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's unusual for a 59-year-old man who has spent more than four decades in football to be calling himself an "apprentice" at what he is doing, but Rocky Hager is joking about it today. This time last year,

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.