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<< Former Cardinals defensive coordinator hooks up with Chiefs
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs named Clancy Pendergast as their next defensive coordinator on Friday. Pendergast had served as the Cardinals' defensive coordinator from 2004-08 but was let go this offseason

<< No contest
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first knockout round of the Champions League only confirmed what many already believed. That the English Premiership is the best league in the world, hands down. If the Round of 16 was a boxing match

<< Bellotti resigns as Oregon football coach, will become AD
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Oregon head football coach Mike Bellotti has resigned his post to become the school's next athletic director, the school announced on Friday. Bellotti will become the athletic direct

<< Thornton leads LSU over Kentucky, into SEC semis
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC Player of the Year Marcus Thornton scored 21 points to help 20th-ranked LSU take a step closer to its first conference tournament title since 1980, as the Tigers upended a desperate Kentucky club, 67-58,

Rams part ways with WR Holt >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams released long-time wideout Torry Holt on Friday. The 32-year-old played his entire 10-year career with the Rams, racking up 869 receptions for 12,660 yards and 74 touchdowns in 158

Thanks to Kitchen, No. 22 Florida State tops Georgia Tech >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derwin Kitchen's reverse layup and subsequent three-point play proved to be the difference, and the 22nd-ranked and fourth- seeded Florida State Seminoles survived the feisty Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Hertha hopes to tighten grip on top spot vs. Bayer >>
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hertha Berlin has been on a roll since the Bundesliga returned from its winter break in late January, going unbeaten in five of six to climb to the top of the table and move into position to end a near

Mickelson chips in again for solo CA Championship lead >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fourth time in two rounds, Phil Mickelson chipped in from off the green on Friday en route to a six-under 66 and sole possession of the second-round lead at the WGC-CA Championship. "I've never chipped

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.