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<< White Sox activate Thornton from DL
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have activated reliever Matt Thornton from the 15-day disabled list. Thornton had been on the DL since August 18 with left elbow inflammation. He is 3-4 with a 2.66 earned run average

<< Marlins recall Leroux, Cousins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins announced Friday the recall of pitcher Chris Leroux and outfielder Scott Cousins from Triple-A New Orleans. Leroux has spent parts of 2010 and 2009 with the Marlins, pitching in 19 t

<< Houston tries to build momentum against San Jose
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff hopes of the Houston Dynamo continue to slip away as the club gets set to host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at Robertson Stadium. Houston snapped a 10-game winless skid with a 4-3 wi

<< DeWitt, Soriano both homer as Cubs top Mets
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake DeWitt's three-run homer in the sixth provided the difference, and the Cubs began a weekend series against the Mets with a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field. DeWitt hit his fourth home run in just 30 game

Dillon takes pole for Kentucky truck race >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Austin Dillon will start on the pole for Friday's Built Ford Tough 225 Camping World Truck Series race after edging Johnny Sauter by the slimmest of margins in qualifying at Kentucky Speedway. Dillon

Cook returns from DL to start for Rockies >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have activated pitcher Aaron Cook from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Friday's series opener at San Diego. Cook missed 27 games while sidelined with a sprained right big

Padres recall Russell >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have recalled right- hander Adam Russell from Triple-A Portland. It will be Russell's fourth stint with the Padres this season. In six games earlier this year, the 27-year-old ga

Cardinals release 16 players >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals pared down their roster on Friday, releasing 16 players ahead of Saturday's deadline to reduce the active roster to 53 players. The club announced the release of the following players: l

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.

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

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