08/29/2008 - Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs star guard Manu Ginobili needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament in his left heel.
Ginobili, who helped Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, revealed the information is his column for Argentina's La Nacion newspaper Friday.
The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year was originally injured during the NBA playoffs and aggravated things in a semifinal loss to the United States during the Olympics. He did not play when Argentina downed Lithuania in the bronze medal game.
Ginobili averaged 19.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 74 games for the Spurs last season.
<< Everton signs striker Saha from Man United
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton agreed to a deal with Manchester
United to sign Louis Saha for an undisclosed fee Friday.
The France striker will sign a two-year contract with the option for a third
with the Toffees, subjec
<< Tressel gets raise from Ohio State
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has
agreed to contract revisions that will make him the highest-paid football
coach in the Big Ten Conference.
Under the amended deal, Tressel's raise will be
<< Titans edge Pack in preseason finale
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Flynn's two-point conversion pass as
time expired fell incomplete, and the Tennessee Titans held on to top the
Green Bay Packers, 23-21 in each club's final preseason tuneup before the
regular
<< Choice, Cowboys beat Vikings
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tashard Choice helped his chances of securing a
roster spot by scoring a touchdown to lead the Dallas Cowboys over the
Minnesota Vikings, 16-10, in the preseason finale for both teams at Texas
Stadium
Hamilton signs Etienn, Videira and Casement >>
Hamilton, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton Academical boss Billy Reid has
made three new signings after learning that Mark McLaughlin faces up to two
months on the sidelines.
McLaughlin suffered a knee ligament injury in last
Twins resume series with A's by the bay >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins hope to avoid their fourth straight
loss in Oakland this evening, as they play the second test of a four-game set
with the Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
The Twins lost for the fifth time in thei
Angels attempt to further gap on Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their push
towards their fourth American League West crown in five years when they play
the second of four straight games against the Texas Rangers tonight at Angel
Stadium
Kazmir, Rays welcome Orioles to the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southpaw Scott Kazmir pitches for a piece of Tampa Bay
franchise history tonight when the Rays take on the visiting Baltimore Orioles
in the opening test of a three-game weekend series at Tropicana Field.
A former first-r
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.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting