Pafresbeisbol Basketball Betting News

<< Kang leads U.S. Girls' Junior
Village of Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danielle Kang shot a five-under 67 on Monday to take the first-round lead at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. Kang, 17, collected seven birdies against two bogeys at the Country Club of Nort

<< Twins' Morneau to see specialist
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau will see a specialist Tuesday, as he continues to deal with symptoms of a concussion he sustained before the All-Star break. Morneau is on the disabled

<< Report: Childress visits Favre in Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress reportedly met with Brett Favre on Monday as he tries to gauge if the star quarterback will return for a 20th season in the NFL. WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg repo

<< Reds 3B Rolen remains sidelined
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen missed his third straight game Monday due to a right hamstring injury. Rolen received a cortisone shot in his hamstring and could go on the disabled list in the

Clippers agree on deal to bring back Craig Smith >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a contract with free agent forward Craig Smith. Smith averaged 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes of action in 75 games last season for LA while hittin

Fish eases into second round in Atlanta >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish advanced into the second round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships with a straight-set win over Britain's James Ward on Monday. The American, who brings some momentum into the t

GM: Trade market quiet for White Sox >>
SEATTLE (AP) -General manager Kenny Williams says he doesn't see any deals on the horizon for the Chicago White Sox because the current market is limited.Williams spoke in the visiting dugout before Monday night's game at Seattle, 12 days before bas

Source: Babby to head Suns basketball operations >>
PHOENIX (AP) -A person with knowledge of the situation says the Phoenix Suns have hired agent Lon Babby to head the team's basketball operations.The person, who asked not to be identified because the official announcement has not been made, told The

Betting Football

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.