Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
05/01/2009 - Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar's victory lap continues on Sunday when the club travels to Arke Stadion to meet second-placed Twente, which is in a heated battle for second place.
AZ clinched the Eredivisie title two weeks ago, and despite having no real incentive last week against third-placed Ajax, still held the Amsterdam side to a 1-1 draw.
Now, AZ will try to spoil Twente's hopes of finishing in second place and putting themselves into the qualifying round of the Champions League next season.
Twente enters the match having lost 1-0 to Feyenoord two weeks ago and then playing to a 1-1 draw with Heerenveen last time out.
But despite the club's recent struggles, manager Steve McClaren believes that his team is capable of taking all three points against the champions and that all of their hard work to this point will not go unrewarded.
"Back in August, if I said that Twente, at this stage of the season, would compete for awards, you would have said I was mad," McClaren said. "The team has gradually grown over the season and it is because of hard work that we are in this position."
"We know what we should do on Sunday and that is win," the manager said. "The game against Ajax showed that AZ are very good and that they can win. In this game, there will be many eyes on AZ, who would like to show that they are the best."
Ajax faces a less daunting task when they visit 14th-placed Sparta, who still is not safe from the bottom three.
Sparta is three points above 16th-placed Volendam, but they are running into a motivated Ajax team that needs three points to keep its Champions League hopes on track.
Marco Van Basten's side has also stumbled in the past two weeks, losing 6-2 to PSV Eindhoven two weeks ago before finishing 1-1 with AZ, prompting the manager to vent a bit of frustration after last week's draw.
"Last week we waisted a chance to overtake Twente and basically we did that again," Van Basten said. "Thankfully we still have control over what's going to happen."
The reason why Ajax still controls its own destiny is that Twente will visit Amsterdam Arena next week on the final day of the season, and as long as Ajax remains within touching distance, they will have a chance to clinch second place on home soil.
PSV hosts NEC with an eye towards wrapping up a top-four spot, while fifth- placed Heerenveen, which is two points back of PSV, entertains Den Haag.
Groningen has already secured a spot in the top eight, giving them a chance to pick up a European spot, and they will meet Volendam, while Feyenoord travels to Utrecht in a match that will go a long way towards determining who joins Groningen.
The relegation battle is still ongoing with Roda just one point from safety and hosting Willem II, while last-placed Graafschap travels to NAC just two points from safety and Heracles, which is three clear of the bottom three, visits Vitesse.
<< Canadiens legend Lafleur convicted of obstruction of justice
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Montreal Canadiens forward Guy Lafleur
was convicted of obstruction of justice Friday and faces a maximum sentence of
14 years in prison.
Lafleur's son, Mark, violated his bail conditions when he sta
<< Milan still believes in title chances
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When AC Milan travels to Catania on Sunday
they will be doing so with the belief that they can still catch leaders Inter
Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
It appeared that the race for the Scudetto
<< Celtic begins final push
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Scottish Premier League season
enters its final stretch this weekend as Celtic travels to Pittodrie Stadium
on Saturday to meet Aberdeen with a one-point lead on second-placed Rangers.
Celtic
<< Real ready to reel in Barca in El Clasico
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid is unbeaten in 17 straight, a run
that includes 16 wins, and finally has a chance to reel in once runaway leader
Barcelona on Saturday in the El Clasico.
Real last lost in La Liga in December t
The Kentucky Derby - A Rainy Proposition >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20-horse field is set for the 135th
running of the Kentucky Derby, but the race will lose a ton of luster when
Mother Nature rears her ugly head on Saturday afternoon.
The track is already muddy from T
Nadal, Federer, Djokovic reach semis in Rome >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked superstar Rafael Nadal, former
world No. 1 Roger Federer and reigning Rome champion Novak Djokovic
were quarterfinal winners Friday at the $3.645 million Italian Masters tennis
event.
Lyon needs a 'miracle' to win Ligue 1 >>
Valenciennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon midfielder Mathieu Bodmer admitted
this week the seven-time defending Ligue 1 champions need a "miracle" to repeat
as champions.
Lyon has slipped six points behind first-place Marseille and Bordea
Julien, McLellan, Murray named Jack Adams Award finalists >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins, Todd
McLellan of the San Jose Sharks and Andy Murray of the St. Louis Blues were
named as the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which is awarded
annuall
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.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting