Floridamarlina Football Betting News

<< Els fends off Schwartzel for second WGC crown
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els fired a bogey-free, six-under 66 Sunday to beat Charl Schwartzel and win the WGC - CA Championship. Els, who earned his second WGC title, completed the event at 18-under-par 270. He missed Phil Mickelso

<< James, Cavaliers handle Celtics
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James ended with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Cleveland to a convincing 104-93 victory over Boston at Quicken Loans Arena. Antawn Jamison returned from a one-game absence

<< Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse gain top seeds
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and Syracuse were given top seeds for the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Kansas (32-2), which was anointed the top overall seed for the tournament, will be in the Midwest Region. The

<< Turner leads Ohio State to Big Ten title with rout of Gophers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Turner capped a dominant performance in the Big Ten Tournament with 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, as fifth-ranked Ohio State pulled away late to notch an impressive 90-61 win over Minneso

Streelman, Collins share lead in Puerto Rico >>
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Streelman and Chad Collins were atop the leaderboard Sunday at 12-under par when the third-round of the rain-delayed Puerto Rico Open was suspended for the day due to darkness. Rain delay

Seedorf's late goal leads AC Milan over Chievo >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Substitute Clarence Seedorf scored in injury time and AC Milan edged Chievo 1-0 on Sunday at the San Siro to close within one point of Inter Milan for first place in Italy's Serie A. Seedorf entered the ma

Gonchar caps Penguins rally over Lightning >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Gonchar notched the game-winning score early in the third period, as Pittsburgh clipped Tampa Bay, 2-1, at St. Pete Times Forum. Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who snapped a two-game s

Isles finally win back-to-back games, top Leafs >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Park posted a goal and an assist, while Blake Comeau added three helpers, and the Islanders recorded back-to- back wins for the first time in nearly two months with a 4-1 win over Toronto. Matt

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.