Oistons Hockey Betting News

<< Canada following a path to gold
Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team Canada's quest for gold at the World Junior Baseball Championship nearly took a detour down a dangerous road. Luckily for them, Dalton Pompey knows his way around a diamond. Pompey came off the b

<< Vince Young to avoid discipline by NFL
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young will reportedly escape punishment by the NFL for his part in a fight at a Dallas strip club last month. The Tennessean cited unnamed sources ahead of

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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A body riddled with bullets was found in Southeast Memphis Wednesday afternoon in a thickly wooded area near FedEx's world headquarters. It was just another sad ending in a city that has become notorious f

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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have decided to put rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness in his shoulder. Strasburg is expected to rest for the next 3-to-4 days and have

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BALTIMORE RAVENS - McDaniel College, Westminster, Md., rookies: July 26/veterans: July 28.BUFFALO BILLS - St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, N.Y., both July 29.CINCINNATI BENGALS - Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., both July 28.CLEVELAND BROWNS

AP source: Haynesworth fails conditioning test >>
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -Albert Haynesworth has failed his conditioning test and is being forced to sit out the first practice of the Washington Redskins training camp.A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Haynesworth did not

Orioles hire Buck Showalter as manager >>
BALTIMORE (AP) -The Baltimore Orioles have hired Buck Showalter to be their manager.Showalter's first game will be Tuesday night at Camden Yards against the Los Angeles Angels.Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed the hiri

Seahawks sign free-agent G Chester Pitts >>
RENTON, Wash. (AP) -Free-agent guard Chester Pitts has agreed to a contract with the Seattle Seahawks on the eve of training camp.The team announced the deal on Thursday for the starter with the Houston Texans from 2002 until last season.Seahawks ve

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.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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