Vobcats Basketball Betting News

<< Kearns, Nationals avoid salary arbitration
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals avoided arbitration with right fielder Austin Kearns on Thursday, agreeing to a three-year contract with a club option for 2010. Kearns joined the Nationals after being acq

<< Oilers gain momentum heading into tough stretch
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't all that long ago that the Edmonton Oilers stood in first place in the topsy-turvy Northwest Division, before a month-long rough stretch sent the inconsistent club tumbling to the bottom of the standings. Edmont

<< Wizards making a push for East supremacy
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A win this Saturday against the Lakers would give the Wizards something they haven't had since the 1978-79 season; an All-Star head coaching gig for its very own head coach. Washington could have clinched the distinction f

<< Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Waived forwards Cornell Glen and Josh Hansen, midfielder Guillermo "Memo" Gonzalez goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

Pirates sign Tony Armas Jr. >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-handed pitcher Tony Armas Jr. to a contract on Thursday. The deal covers the 2007 season with a club option for 2008. In 30 starts last year for the Washington N

Ljubicic sneaks into Zagreb QFs >>
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a rematch of last year's final, Croatian star Ivan Ljubicic once again defeated Austrian Stefan Koubek on the carpet at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event. The top-seeded and defending champion L

'Canes activate Hedican from IR >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes announced that defenseman Bret Hedican has been activated from injured reserve. Hedican, who has missed 10 games since undergoing surgery January 5 to repair a torn ligament

Wizards' Jamison sidelined 3-6 weeks >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards will be without forward Antawn Jamison for the next three to six weeks as he rehabs a sprained left knee, the team announced Wednesday. Jamison suffered the injury in Tuesday's 1

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.