NFL Capsule: Minnesota at New Orleans

Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 -

MINNESOTA (13-5) At NEW ORLEANS (16-3)

8:30 p.m. ET, NBC

OPENING LINE - Saints by 4 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Minnesota 11-6-1; New Orleans 10-9

SERIES RECORD - Vikings lead 20-8

LAST MEETING - Saints beat Vikings 31-28, Jan. 24, 2010

VIKINGS OFFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (13), PASS (8)

VIKINGS DEFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (2), PASS (19)

SAINTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (6), PASS (4)

SAINTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (25), RUSH (21), PASS (26)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Game is rematch of the 2009 NFC championship. ... Vikings beginning their 50th NFL season; Saints beginning their 44th. ... Vikings QB Brett Favre returns for his 20th season. ... Favre needs 3 TD passes to become first ever to reach 500. ... Favre had career-high 107.2 passer rating in 2009. ... RB Adrian Peterson rushed for 1,383 yards, 18 TDs last season. ... Peterson had 122 yards rushing and 3 TDs but fumbled twice vs. Saints in NFC title game. ... Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe's 11 TD catches ranked second among TEs in 2009. ... Vikings DE Jarred Allen had 14 1/2 sacks in 2009. ... Saints won first Super Bowl in franchise history last season. ... Saints led NFL with 510 points, ninth most in single season history, and led NFL in total offense with 403.8 yards per game. ... Saints QB Drew Brees set NFL record with 70.62 completion percentage in 2009 and led NFL with career-high and franchise-high 109.6 passer rating. Was voted Super Bowl MVP. ... RB Pierre Thomas led Saints with career-high 793 yards rushing in 2009. ... RB Reggie Bush is only player in Saints history to score TDs rushing, receiving and on punt returns. ... WR Marques Colston led Saints with 70 catches for 1,074 yards in 2009, his third 1,000-yard season since joining NFL in 2006. ... Saints had 39 takeaways last season (26 INT, 13 fumble recoveries), second in NFL. ... S Roman Harper had career-high 127 tackles in 2009, second highest on Saints behind Jon Vilma's 130. ... All-Pro S Darren Sharper out six weeks after left knee surgery.Copyright © 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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.