Things are developing quite nicely in the NFL’s senior circuit. The top three Super Bowl favorites may be from the AFC, but the bandwagons in New Orleans and Dallas are loading up quickly.

And then there’s the Falcons. They host Baltimore on Friday night, as new coach Bobby Petrino tries to get his offense up and running. This is a prime opportunity for would-be No. 2 quarterback Chris Redman to nail down a job. Atlanta is contemplating grabbing another pivot off the waiver wire, but with Joey Harrington receiving praise thus far, Redman can make up the Falcons’ minds for them by performing well against the Ravens.

Redman was a third-stringer on Baltimore’s 2000 championship team and made six starts for them before moving on to New England in 2005. He’s done reasonably well this preseason, connecting on 62.8 percent of his passes. The Falcons are understandably drawing plenty of action as 3.5-point home dogs.

Sure, Week 4 of the preseason is mostly about tying up loose ends before the real thing begins next week. That doesn’t mean people will be taking their eyes off the ball.

AFC observers will be paying attention to Thursday’s matchup between the New York Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles. Kellen Clemens has been exquisite at quarterback, posting a 112.3 passer rating and giving Chad Pennington a legitimate push for the starting job. If Pennington goes down during the regular season, he might become the NFL’s version of Wally Pipp.

An even closer battle for the QB job is being fought in Oakland. Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown will each get a crack Thursday night at the Seattle Seahawks; Raiders coach Lane Kiffin says McCown will start, and Culpepper will get about the same number of plays. But everyone else on the first unit will come off after a series or two. Has Kiffin already made up his mind?

Week 4 of the NFL preseason is a strange sight to behold. It’s mostly an opportunity for third-stringers to get one more chance to show their stuff. Here are the Week 4 NFL Preseason matchups:

Thursday
Buffalo at Detroit
NY Giants at New England
NY Jets at Philadelphia
Washington at Jacksonville
Pittsburgh at Carolina
Houston at Tampa Bay
Dallas at Minnesota
Miami at New Orleans
Kansas City at St. Louis
Cleveland at Chicago
Green Bay at Tennessee
Arizona at Denver
Oakland at Seattle
San Francisco at San Diego

Friday
Baltimore at Atlanta
Indianapolis at Cincinnati

Friday’s first matchup is of particular interest, not just because the Falcons appear in the very early going to be better off without Michael Vick, but also because OT Jonathan Ogden may make his preseason debut for the Ravens. Ogden missed training camp with turf toe; with him back on the roster, Baltimore’s offensive line is a wrecking machine.

Keep an eye on the wires for Friday’s status updates. (And get all of your NFL Preseason odds at Bodog Sportsbook!)

Week 4 of the NFL preseason is a strange sight to behold. It’s mostly an opportunity for third-stringers to get one more chance to show their stuff. Here are the Week 4 NFL Preseason matchups:

Thursday
Buffalo at Detroit
NY Giants at New England
NY Jets at Philadelphia
Washington at Jacksonville
Pittsburgh at Carolina
Houston at Tampa Bay
Dallas at Minnesota
Miami at New Orleans
Kansas City at St. Louis
Cleveland at Chicago
Green Bay at Tennessee
Arizona at Denver
Oakland at Seattle
San Francisco at San Diego

Friday
Baltimore at Atlanta
Indianapolis at Cincinnati

Friday’s first matchup is of particular interest, not just because the Falcons appear in the very early going to be better off without Michael Vick, but also because OT Jonathan Ogden may make his preseason debut for the Ravens. Ogden missed training camp with turf toe; with him back on the roster, Baltimore’s offensive line is a wrecking machine.

Keep an eye on the wires for Friday’s status updates. (And get all of your NFL Preseason odds at Bodog Sportsbook!)

Picking a winner in the men’s draw at this year’s U.S. Open is as easy as saying “Roger Federer.” He’s won the last three in a row and is a 1-2 chalk to make it four at Flushing Meadows.

Because Federer has been so dominant on non-clay surfaces (that world belongs to Rafael Nadal), there are only a handful of Open choices on the futures market, with the rest lumped into the field at 10-1. But there are plenty of value opportunities in single-match betting.

A host of talented, yet unknown players received wild card entries into this year’s Open. Donald Young is getting the most attention; this is his third wild card appearance at the tender age of 18, and he won his first-round match over Australian Chris Guccione in four sets. He’ll face No. 13 Richard Gasquet later this week in Round 2. Young won’t be unknown (or undervalued) for long.

The 2007 U.S. Open is on tap this week at Flushing Meadows, and the focus is naturally on defending women’s champion Maria Sharapova. But her star hasn’t shone quite as brightly this year – thanks in large part to the dominance of Justine Henin.

Henin is the No. 1 seed on the women’s circuit, and the 7-4 favorite to win her second career Open. Sharapova is tied with Serena Williams at 4-1. Neither is likely to put a dent in Henin’s armor; she’s 43-4 this year in singles action. Sharapova, the No. 2 seed, is 34-8 in 2007 with just one WTA title compared to six for Henin.

Shoulder problems have kept Sharapova from matching her 2006 form, when she beat Henin at the U.S. Open final. She also had to skip this month’s Rogers Cup in Toronto (won by Henin) due to a shin injury. All the sequins in the world won’t help Sharapova this time.

You know it’s got to drive the Indianapolis Colts nuts that they are only 8-1 to defend their Super Bowl championship. That’s well behind New England (2-1) and San Diego (6-1), and the Saints have snuck into the picture at 8-1 themselves.

All the Colts have done is keep the best offense in 2006 largely intact. There are a few question marks on defense, but this was already a unit that had its ups and downs last year, and that didn’t prevent Peyton Manning from engineering his first league title.

Although the Colts are near the top of the NFL with a .516 strength of schedule, they get the Saints, Broncos and Patriots at home during the regular season. Indy was undefeated at the RCA Dome last year with a record of 7-3 ATS, including the playoffs. Next year, the Colts play under the retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium, so enjoy the dome cooking while you can.

These aren’t exactly the best days for the folks at Monday Night Football. Their grip on the sports landscape dwindles with every passing year and every channel that gets added to the TV multiverse. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be some great football this year.

Week 4 sees Tom Brady and Carson Palmer go at it as the Pats visit the Bengals. Colts and Jaguars in Week 7 should be a classic meeting of offense versus defense. And Brett Favre takes the stage with the Packers the following Monday in Denver; will it be his last MNF appearance? And how many years have we asked that question?

The biggest game of them all, though, should be in Week 14 when New England faces the Ravens in Baltimore. That could very well be a preview for what’s to come in the AFC title game. Too bad Dennis Miller isn’t around to drop some Edgar Allan Poe on us. Check out the complete 2007 Monday Night Football schedule here. And for an in-depth NFL betting preview check out Bodog Nation this week.

The San Francisco Giants have had one of the most surreal seasons imaginable. 2007 was all about Barry Bonds; the team behind him is a mess of broken-down veterans and questionable relievers. San Fran was nearly 18 units in the hole at press time, ahead of only Tampa Bay. Ugh.

Don’t blame Matt Cain. He’s the most unprofitable pitcher in the majors this year at minus-15.85 units, and the Giants have won just six of his 25 starts. But look again: Cain has a 3.78 ERA. Not bad at all. Problem is, San Fran is scoring just 3.2 runs per game when he takes the mound.

Run support isn’t necessarily reliable – do his teammates hate him? Do they love Noah Lowry, who gets 4.5 runs of support per start and has earned nearly seven units for Giants supporters? Doubtful. Still, the “under” is a tasty 16-8 for Cain this season. Food for thought.

The college football preseason rankings have just been released, and USC is the overwhelming No. 1 team. Will they go undefeated and play for the title? Or will they have to settle for another Rose Bowl, or (shudder) one of the non-BCS bowls on the following schedule? Time will tell.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Dec. 20: Mountain West vs. Navy/At-Large

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Dec. 21: Sun Belt No. 1 vs. C-USA

PapaJohn’s.com Bowl
Dec. 22: Big East (or MAC) vs. C-USA

New Mexico Bowl
Dec. 22: Mountain West vs. WAC

Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl
Dec. 22: Mountain West No. 1 vs. Pac-10 No. 4

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Dec. 23: C-USA vs. WAC

Motor City Bowl
Dec. 26: Big Ten No. 7 vs. MAC

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Dec. 27: Big 12 No. 3 vs. Pac-10 No. 2

Texas Bowl
Dec. 28: Big 12 vs. C-USA

Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 28: ACC No. 4 vs. Big Ten No. 4 or No. 5

Emerald Bowl
Dec. 28: ACC No. 7 vs. Pac-10 No. 5

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Dec. 29: ACC No. 6 vs. Big East

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Dec. 29: C-USA No. 1 vs. SEC No. 6

Alamo Bowl
Dec. 29: Big Ten No. 4 or No. 5 vs. Big 12 No. 4

Petro Sun Independence Bowl
Dec. 30: Big 12 No. 7 vs. SEC No. 8

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Dec. 31: Mountain West vs. Pac-10

Allstate BCS National Championship
Jan. 7: BCS No. 1 vs. No. 2