Kentucky-Notre Dame clash highlights SEC/Big East Invitational

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

06/09/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky and Notre Dame were among the eight teams chosen to play in this year's SEC/Big East Invitational, a two-night event held December 8 and 11 in Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Joining Kentucky from the SEC will be Tennessee, Auburn and Arkansas, while Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Seton Hall round out the remaining Big East competitors.

Arkansas will play Seton Hall on December 8 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, followed by Kentucky versus Notre Dame.

On December 11 at the brand new CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Rutgers will battle Auburn and the Panthers will take on Tennessee.

Wwpogo NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< WPS announces All Stars
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced the starting 22 players for its 2010 WPS All-Star game, which will take place on June 30 at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. The starting 22 players were

<< Hewitt lands in Halle QFs
Halle, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the Gerry Weber Open, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up. The two-time major champion Hewitt humbled Dutchman Thiemo De B

<< 'Turfbreaking' set for EWU's red field
Cheyney, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans All-Pro tackle Michael Roos will be in attendance for a "turfbreaking" ceremony at Eastern Washington on Saturday, as the Big Sky Conference university moves toward installing a red turf field.

<< ESPN hoops analyst Phelps recovering from cancer surgery
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former college basketball coach and ESPN analyst Digger Phelps is recovering from successful prostate cancer surgery he underwent on Tuesday. The legendary coach was diagnosed on April 28 and had the

<< Rachel Alexandra versus four in Fleur de Lis
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, goes after her first win of 2010 on Saturday in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares will be the fir

NCAA bans Portland State men's basketball from postseason >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The men's basketball team at Portland State has been banned from competing in the NCAA Tournament for the 2010-11 campaign after the school fell too low on the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) score list th

NFLPA issues challenge to structure of NFL television deals >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League Player's Association has initiated a legal challenge to the NFL's agreement with television networks, which allows the league to reap payments even if no games are pla

Nadal, Djokovic win second-rounders in London >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open champion Rafael Nadal and second-seeded Novak Djokovic highlighted Wednesday's second-round winners at the Aegon Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up. Making a smooth transit

Report: Nets eyeing Johnson for coaching job >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Post is reporting that the New Jersey Nets have entered into discussions with Avery Johnson about the team's head coaching vacancy. Johnson was fired after the Dallas Mavericks' ouster from

2 BCS schools could lose basketball scholarships >>
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The NCAA's big boys have figured out how to beat up the little guys in the classroom, too.Spend more money.The newest Academic Progress Rate, released Wednesday, showed seven of the 137 teams facing penalties come from BCS confer

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.