Dawson hits two late FGs; Delhomme sharp in Browns debut
Football Betting Lines
08/14/2010 - Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson made a pair of field goals with less than two minutes left in the game, as the Cleveland Browns rallied past the Green Bay Packers, 27-24, in the preseason lid-lifter for each club.
Dawson made a 58-yard field goal with about 1 1/2 minutes remaining and a 46- yarder as time expired to give Cleveland the victory.
The Browns, who are trying to rebound from a 5-11 record in 2009, upgraded at quarterback in the offseason by signing Jake Delhomme, who made both Pro Bowl and Super Bowl appearances during a seven-year run as starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers. Delhomme impressed in his Browns debut, completing 6- of-7 passes for 66 yards.
Seneca Wallace was brought in as a serviceable backup after spending seven years in Seattle. He connected on 4-of-8 passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Colt McCoy, who was selected in the third round of the draft, threw two interceptions before leaving with a right hand injury.
Jerome Harrison rushed for a TD, while Brian Robiskie and Benjamin Watson each caught a touchdown pass.
Aaron Rodgers completed his first 10 passes of the game en route to connecting on 12-of-13 for 159 yards and a touchdown. Matt Flynn completed 9-of-15 passes for 69 yards and an interception for the Packers, who are coming off an 11-5 season.
Green Bay's backfield suffered a bit of a blow as Ryan Grant left the game in the first quarter with a head injury. Grant, who fumbled on his first touch of the contest, rushed for just six yards on three carries. Kregg Lumpkin and John Kuhn each had a rushing TD.
Greg Jennings led the receiving corps with three catches for 68 yards and a score.
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Reed connected on three field goals to help the Pittsburgh Steelers take a 23-7 win over the Detroit Lions in the preseason opener for both squads. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, comi
<< McGehee singles home winning run in 10th as Brewers edge Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee singled home the go-ahead run in
the top of the 10th inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Colorado
Rockies, 5-4, in the second test of a three-game series from Coors Field.
Ryan Brau
<< Cardinals' fourth-quarter rally seals win over Texans
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Wright caught a 15-yard touchdown pass
from John Skelton with 1:53 remaining, completing Arizona's 19-point fourth
quarter rally in a 19-16 preseason win over the Houston Texans.
Beanie Wells caug
<< Bradford makes debut, but Rosenfels steals spotlight
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sage Rosenfels threw for 310 yards and three
touchdowns, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 28-7 victory over the St. Louis
Rams in each team's first preseason game.
Rosenfels relieved starter Tarvaris Jac
<< Lester leads Red Sox over Texas
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester turned in eight scoreless innings
and Bill Hall finished 2-for-4 with an RBI as Boston downed Texas, 3-1, in the
second of three between the teams.
J.D. Drew and Marco Scutaro also drove in a run
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Catcher Bobby Wilson homered twice and knocked in a career-high five runs to power the Angels to a 7-2 victory over Toronto. "My main job is to help the pitcher put up zeros. Anything I can do offens
Wondolowski goal propels S.J. over K.C. >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes snapped a three-
game winless run with 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards in Major League
Soccer action on Saturday night.
San Jose striker Chris Wondolowski scored the g
New England Patriots 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Whether you liked Bill Belichick's fourth-down call in a
key November contest against the Indianapolis Colts or you didn't, there's
little sense in disputing the pall that its failure cast on the remainder of
the New England
Chargers strike down Bears >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philip Rivers threw for 62 yards and a
touchdown on 4-of-6 passing in his preseason debut, as San Diego downed
Chicago, 25-10, in the exhibition opener for both clubs.
Legedu Naanee hauled in
Seahawks turn page with preseason win over Titans >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Whitehurst threw two touchdowns to help
the Seattle Seahawks take a 20-18 win over the Tennessee Titans in the
preseason opener for both squads.
Whitehurst went 14-for-22 with 214 yards and
Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs 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.
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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