Washingtunnationals Baseball Betting News

<< Orioles' Matusz named top AL rookie for August
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz has been selected as the American League's top rookie for the month of August. Matusz went 4-1 with a 2.43 earned-run average over six starts in August. He led AL r

<< Atlanta's Hudson voted NL Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson has been named the National League Pitcher of the Month for August. Over six starts in August, Hudson posted a 4-0 mark with a 1.71 earned run average. He struck out 3

<< Federer rolls into third round at the Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer was an easy second-round winner Thursday at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised past German Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at Ashe Stadium.

<< Neely headlines Lester Patrick recipients
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Boston Bruin great Cam Neely was among four recipients of the 2010 Lester Patrick Trophy named Thursday. Also presented with the award were college coaches Jack Parker and Jerry York and American Hoc

Wozniacki, Jankovic reach third round in Flushing >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic were a pair of second-round winners Thursday at the 2010 U.S. Open. The 2009 runner-up Wozniacki double-bageled Taipei's Kai-Chen

Toronto's Bautista wins AL monthly award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista was named the American League Player of the Month for August. Bautista torrid month-long stretch with the bat saw him lead the A.L. in home runs (12), RBI (24)

Boston's Buchholz named AL Pitcher of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for August. Buchholz was 4-0 with a minuscule 1.03 earned-run average over six August starts. He struck out

Hawks sign C Thomas >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks signed free agent center Etan Thomas on Thursday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. An eight-year veteran, Thomas spent last season with Oklahoma City and in 23 games a

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.

Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

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