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<< Cards activate C LaRue from DL
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have activated catcher Jason LaRue from the 15-day disabled list and optioned catcher Bryan Anderson to Triple-A Memphis. LaRue has been sidelined with a strained right

<< Kuznetsova rolls in Porsche opener
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was an easy first-round winner Tuesday at the $700,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a clay-court Roland Garros tune-up. The third-seeded Kuznetsova pasted Slov

<< Olic's hat trick seals Bayern's spot in final
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivica Olic scored a hat trick to lead Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over Lyon on Tuesday at the Stade de Gerland, and into the Champions League final on aggregate, 4-0. Bayern won the first leg in Munich 1-0 on

<< Bears get Harris from Panthers for Williams
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears acquired safety Chris Harris from the Carolina Panthers for linebacker Jamar Williams on Tuesday. Harris was picked by the Bears in the sixth round of the 2005 draft and spent his fi

A's disable P Anderson, make other moves >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have placed left-hander Brett Anderson on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow inflammation and a forearm strain. The move is retroactive to April 25. Anderson, who recently sign

Braica takes over men's hoops at St. Francis College >>
Brooklyn Heights, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Francis College has announced the hiring of Glenn Braica as men's head basketball coach. Braica, who has spent the last six seasons as an assistant at St. John's under Norm Roberts, previous

Papajohns.com Bowl extends ties with SEC, Big East >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeastern Conference and the Big East have agreed to four-year extensions through 2013 to continue their respective affiliations with the Papajohns.com Bowl. The Mid-American Conference will be th

Flyers' Laperriere most likely lost for remainder of playoffs >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Ian Laperriere will most likely be lost for the remainder of the playoffs. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced on Tuesday that Laperriere, who was spared

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.

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.