Wlalakers Basketball Betting News

<< Defending champ Davydenko advances at Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko advanced with an easy second-round victory on Tuesday at the German Open Tennis Championships, on a day which saw nearly every other seeded player fall.

<< Bulls pull off sign-and-trade for C.J. Watson
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have acquired guard C.J. Watson from Golden State in a sign-and-trade deal that netted the Warriors a second-round draft pick. An official Bulls blog on the team's website confirmed the

<< Petkovic advances in Austria
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Andrea Petkovic of Germany was among the first-round winners Tuesday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Petkovic, this year's top seed, cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory ove

<< American midfielder Zizzo signs with MLS
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American midfielder Sal Zizzo has left German Bundesliga club Hannover and signed with Major League Soccer on Tuesday. Zizzo will learn his new club after a weighted lottery is conducted on Wednesday. Zizzo p

Rangers' Nippert lands on DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers decided to place reliever Dustin Nippert on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after he was struck in the head by a line drive during Monday's game versus the Tigers. Nippert was taken to

Suns add Babby to front office >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns introduced Lon Babby as the organization's next president of basketball operations at a news conference on Tuesday. Babby joins the Suns as the successor to Steve Kerr, whose contract was

Indians activate SS Cabrera after two-month DL stint >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians activated shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera from the disabled list after he missed two months with a broken left forearm. Cabrera, who had originally been expected to return to the l

Bucs sign second round pick DT Price >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed on a four-year contract with defensive tackle Brian Price, one of the team's 2010 second- round picks on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. "I'm gl

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

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.