Wwbengals Football Betting News

<< Paes and Dlouhy rally for French doubles crown
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leander Paes of India and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic rallied from a set down to beat South Africa's Wesley Moodie and Belgium's Dick Norman for the men's doubles title at the French Open. Paes and

<< Royals recall Hochevar to start against Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals recalled former No. 1 overall pick Luke Hochevar to start Saturday against the Blue Jays and halt the team's eight-game losing streak. Hochevar, who was the top pick in the 2006 d

<< Arizona's Scherzer tries to rebound against Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Diamondbacks will get to see tonight how 24-year-old Max Scherzer responds to what was arguably his worst career outing last time out. Arizona, coming off a 13-hit outburst, visits the San Diego Padres in the continuation

<< Rockies hope to keep offense rolling versus Cardinals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Rockies offense can duplicate its success from this series opener, the club should have no problem matching its longest winning streak of the season. Searching for a third straight win, Colorado plays the second con

Silva flattered by Real link >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia midfielder David Silva has admitted to being flattered by reported interest from Real Madrid. The Spain winger claims the interest is little more than speculation at the moment, but has

Agent: Bayern interested in Pandev >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio striker Goran Pandev is wanted by Bayern Munich, according to his agent. The FYR Macedonia international is unsettled at the Rome club and agent Carlo Pallavicino claims a possible destination for

Dzeko hopes for new Wolfsburg deal >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Edin Dzeko is hoping to end the speculation surrounding his future by agreeing to a new contract with Wolfsburg. The 23-year-old Bosnia-Herzegovina international has been linked with

Moratti dismisses talk of striker swap >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has dismissed talk of a swap deal involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. Sweden international Ibrahimovic is rumored to be unsettle

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.