08/20/2008 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros claimed infielder Jose Castillo on outright waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Castillo is expected to report to the team Friday after being designated for assignment by San Francisco on August 13. A corresponding move to the 25-man roster will be announced prior to Castillo's reporting.
The 27-year-old hit .244 with six home runs and 35 runs batted in over 112 games for the Giants this season. In five seasons with the Giants and Pirates, Castillo batted .253 with 39 homers and 216 RBI in 577 career games.
<< Griffey ties Sosa on home run list
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.
belted his 609th career home run on Wednesday to tie Sammy Sosa for fifth
place on the all-time list.
Griffey drilled a two-out, two-run homer in the
<< Eagles' Curtis out with sports hernia
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Kevin
Curtis will undergo surgery Thursday for a sports hernia.
Curtis suffered the injury during last Friday's preseason game against
Carolina and will "be out
<< Panthers release veteran DT Scott
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers reached an injury
settlement with defensive tackle Ian Scott Wednesday and released the veteran.
Scott, who was signed in the offseason after the Panthers traded defensive
tack
<< Reds place Hairston on DL
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed infielder Jerry
Hairston Jr. on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right
hamstring.
The move is retroactive to August 18.
In 63 games this season, Hai
Smith to start third preseason game for Ravens >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens will again go
with Troy Smith at quarterback to start the team's third preseason tuneup
against the St. Louis Rams on August 23.
Smith, who started the team's second
Twins continue home dominance with series win over Oakland >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Redmond stroked a pair of run-scoring
singles to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Oakland
Athletics in the finale of a three-game series at the Metrodome.
Justin Morneau a
Griffey hits one of Chicago's four homers in rout of M's >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ken Griffey Jr. belted his first home run in a
White Sox uniform and Nick Swisher homered for the third consecutive game, as
Chicago completed a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 15-3 rout
at U.S.
Twins activate 2B Casilla from DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins activated infielder
Alexi Casilla from the 15-day disabled list after Wednesday's 3-1 victory over
the Oakland Athletics.
Casilla has been sidelined since July 29 with a torn lig
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 refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
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