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
07/29/2010 - Georgetown, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals officially brought controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens into the fold on Thursday, signing a previously reported one-year contract.
It was reported earlier that the deal is worth up to $4 million, with $2 million guaranteed.
"The addition of Terrell brings another accomplished and productive player to our offensive team," said head coach Marvin Lewis. "When you add his kind of threat to your passing game, it helps your running game, too, because defenses have to account for it. We've witnessed it as a defense playing against him. We've been through the process of trying to prevent it."
Owens spent the last season in Buffalo, catching 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games. He spent the previous three seasons in Dallas and the two before that with Philadelphia, all while often getting caught up in public locker room spats, but also producing as one of the league's top receivers.
The five-year run with Dallas and Philadelphia saw Owens notch 1,000- yard seasons and double-digit touchdown receptions in all but one of those years. The Eagles suspended or left Owens inactive for the final nine games of the 2005 season because of constant problems with the team's front office, coach Andy Reid and teammates.
A six-time Pro Bowl selection and third-round draft choice of the 49ers in 1996, Owens played in San Francisco for eight seasons before joining the Eagles for the 2004 campaign.
In 205 career games spanning 14 years in the league, Owens has established himself as one of the best receivers of all-time. He ranks third in NFL annals with 14,951 receiving yards and 144 touchdowns receptions, while ranking sixth in catches with 1,006.
<< Compton, Every share Greenbrier lead
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Erik Compton, the two-time heart
transplant recipient, fired a seven-under 63 Thursday to share the first-round
lead with Matt Every at The Greenbrier Classic.
Playing on another sponsor's exem
<< Dolphins ink first-round pick Odrick
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins and defensive lineman Jared
Odrick have reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth $13 million, including
$7.133 million guaranteed.
Additionally, second-round selection linebacker Koa M
<< Tribe pitcher Talbot leaves game
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians starter Mitch Talbot left
Thursday's game against the Yankees with an undisclosed injury.
Talbot made his exit with a runner on first and none out in the third. Rafael
Perez entered the g
<< Vikings sign second-round pick Cook, three others
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings have signed rookie
cornerback Chris Cook.
The Vikings selected the Virginia product in the second round (34th overall)
of the 2010 draft. Cook was an All-Atlantic Coast Conf
Jets place McKnight on active non-football injury list >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets placed running back and
2010 draft pick Joe McKnight on the active non-football injury list Thursday
after he failed a conditioning test.
McKnight, who was taken by the Jets in the
Salazar, Padres take series from Dodgers >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar singled home the
winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the San Diego Padres posted
a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles in the rubber match of a three-game series at
Petco P
Sharks sign D Demers to two-year extension >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Jason
Demers to a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Demers finished fourth among NHL rookie defenseman with 21
points (four goals, 17 assis
After Oswalt acquisition, Phillies win eighth straight >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Valdez helped Philadelphia
celebrate its acquisition of pitcher Roy Oswalt with a game-winning RBI single
in the bottom of the 11th inning, as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep
and won
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.
Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard
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.
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