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03/22/2009 - Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Midwest Regional was full of upsets on the first day and the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will try to avoid one themselves against the ninth-seeded Siena Saints in second-round play at UD Arena this evening. The survivor of this battle will move on to the Sweet 16 against either Arizona or Cleveland State next week.
There were five upsets in the Midwest Regional alone in the first round and Siena accounted for one of them, as they pulled off a dramatic 74-72 double- overtime win against eighth-seeded Ohio State on Friday. While it was a lower seed beating a higher one, it wasn't exactly a shocking result, as the Saints are a talented group that even trounced fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the first round of this event last year. Winners of five straight, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season and tourney champions have now matched the program record for victories in a season with 27.
As for Louisville, it swept both the Big East Tournament and regular season titles on its way to the No.1 overall seed in this event. The Cardinals got their run started on Friday with an expected, 74-54 victory over 16th-seeded Morehead State. It was the 11th straight victory for red-hot Louisville, which is now one win away from reaching the Sweet 16 for the 17th time in school history.
The Cardinals and Saints have met just one time previously on the hardwood, with Siena capturing a 78-71 victory all the way back in 1953.
Ronald Moore hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the first overtime to keep the Saints' season alive and he made an identical three-point bucket with 3.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift Siena over Ohio State in a thriller on Friday. It was a gritty performance by the Saints, who shot just 33.3 percent from the floor, including only 6-of-24 from downtown. Siena made up for some of those shooting woes by dominating the boards, 53-37, and that takes into account a sizeable 23-9 advantage on the offensive glass. All five starters reached double figures for the Saints, with Edwin Ubiles and his 20 points leading the way. Ryan Rossiter notched a double-double with 16 points and 15 boards, and Kenny Hasbrouck tallied 12 points and nine boards. Moore finished with 11 points and six assists, while Alex Franklin recorded a double-double of his own with 10 points and 13 rebounds. On the season, Ubiles tops the roster in scoring at 14.8 ppg and Hasbrouck his hot on his trail with 14.7 ppg. Franklin contributes 13.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg, and Rossiter adds 10.2 ppg and a team-best 8.0 rpg to the mix.
After leading just 35-33 at the half, the Cardinals opened the second stanza with a 22-6 run to seize control and coast to the 74-54 win over Morehead State on Friday. Louisville shot a sizzling 58.0 percent from the floor and made good on 10-of-24 attempts from long distance. Freshman Samardo Samuels paced the team with 15 points and seven boards, while Terrance Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds. Earl Clark posted 12 points and five boards and he leads the team in both of those departments with 14.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg on the season. Williams ranks second to him with 12.4 ppg and 8.5 rpg, but he tops the club with 5.0 apg and 82 steals. Samuels checks in with 12.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg for the Cardinals, who are limiting teams to just 61.4 ppg on the season.
<< Sharks eye West's top seed in home test against Avalanche
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already clinched the Pacific Division title, the San
Jose Sharks can regain the top seed in the Western Conference when they host
the lowly Colorado Avalanche tonight at HP Pavilion.
The Sharks have 104 points on th
<< Ducks take aim at third straight win in home test vs. Coyotes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will shoot for their first three-game
winning streak in nearly four months when they welcome the Phoenix Coyotes for
today's clash at the Honda Center.
The Ducks last won three in a row during a four-game
<< Oilers visit Wild with shot at fourth straight victory
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will try for their first four-game
winning streak since the early stages of the season when they visit the
struggling Minnesota Wild for today's Northwest Division battle at Xcel Energy
Center.
The Oil
<< Sliding Blackhawks welcome Kings to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The stumbling Chicago Blackhawks will try to end a five-
game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Kings in an afternoon clash
today at the United Center.
With the regular season winding down, the Blackhawks have p
BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
Blackhawks activate RW Sharp >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right
wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve.
Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt
in a February 14 game against San Jose a
Naylor saves draw for Celtic >>
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic failed to take hold of the Scottish
Premier League as the Hoops needed an 80th-minute goal from Lee Naylor to
salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Sunday.
Celtic could ha
Goya, 20, gets first European Tour win >>
Porto Santo, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Estanislao Goya held off Callum
Macaulay to win the Madeira Islands Open on Sunday, closing with a two-over 73
in the final round to claim his first European Tour victory.
Goya, a 20-year-old
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.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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