07/03/2009 -
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is
seeking talks over his future when he returns for the start of preseason
training.
Pavlyuchenko scored 14 goals in 32 games in his first season in the Premier
League, but slipped down the pecking order following Harry Redknapp's arrival
as manager midway through the campaign.
The $16 million signing from Spartak Moscow has been linked with a series of
moves away from White Hart Lane since the season ended and the player himself
has admitted he doesn't know where his futures lies.
"I am flying back to London on July 7 because Tottenham's first training
session after the vacations is a day later," he revealed.
"As for the rumors about my future, there are so many that I stopped paying
attention to them.
"I need to return to London and maybe then I will understand what my situation
is."
<< Rapids aim to continue Independence Day dominance
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire returns to Major League
Soccer action for the first time in three weeks on Saturday when the club
travels to Dick's Sporting Goods Park to meet the Colorado Rapids.
Chicago has been
<< Mariners activate P Kelley off DL
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners activated rookie reliever
Shawn Kelley from the 15-day disabled list on Friday.
Kelley has been sidelined since May 6 with a strained oblique muscle in his
left side. The right-han
<< Canucks ink former Red Wing Samuelsson to three-year deal
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks signed free agent
right wing Mikael Samuelsson to a three-year contract on Friday. Per club
policy, financial terms of the pact were not disclosed.
The 32-year-old Swiss had
<< Echenique in front in France
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafa Echenique was in the news last week for
his amazing double-eagle on the 72nd hole of the BMW International Open that
almost snatched him the trophy.
On Friday, he made the news for a different reason.
<< NL West: Dodgers welcome back Manny with road trip
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's some sort of buzz going on right now in Los
Angeles. Is Eric Karros making a return to the Dodgers? Did Juan Pierre
embarrass himself by rapping in public again?
Oh wait, Manny Ramirez is returning f
NFL Football Betting Online
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.