A's designate Fox for assignment

Baseball Betting Lines

06/13/2010 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics on Sunday designated catcher/outfielder Jake Fox for assignment.

Fox was batting .214 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 39 games with Oakland this season. He was on the A's Opening Day roster.

Oakland acquired Fox from the Chicago Cubs last December of 2009 with Aaron Miles and cash for Jeff Gray, Ronny Morla and Matt Spencer.

Waskjeeves Baseball Betting News

<< Westwood wins wild playoff
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Westwood rolled in a five-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole Sunday to get his second PGA Tour title at the St. Jude Classic. England's Westwood sank a five-footer on the par-four 18th at

<< Giants sweep A's in latest "Bay Bridge" installment
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff smacked a pair of two-run homers as the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 6-2 victory at AT&T Park. Juan Uribe hit a solo home run for

<< Hernandez's solid outing helps Mariners down Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki doubled home runs in the final two innings and Felix Hernandez worked within one out of a complete game, as Seattle salvaged the finale of a three-game interleague set with Sa

<< Rockies complete sweep of Blue Jays
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and drove in three, as the Colorado Rockies completed a three-game interleague series sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-3 victory at Coors Field. Ryan Spilborghs turne

<< Song wins second straight Duramed Futures title
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christine Song closed with a three-under 68 Sunday to collect her second straight Duramed Futures Tour victory at the Teva Championship. Song finished at 15-under-par 198 at The Golf Center at Kings Island.

Angels take all three in Freeway Series vs. Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hideki Matsui finished 3-for-4 with two RBI as the Angels held on to top the Dodgers, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game interleague series from Dodger Stadium. Bobby Abreu collected three hits, scored t

Mediate gets last spot in U.S. Open field >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rocco Mediate, who had an epic playoff with Tiger Woods two years ago, was given the final spot in the field for the 110th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Mediate had been the first alternate and when no

Zenyatta makes history with Vanity win >>
Inglewood, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta remained undefeated with a third straight win in Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. The undefeated mare ran her career record to 17 straight wins. Owne

Monday finish looms for State Farm Classic >>
Springfield, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - More weather problems on Sunday forced the State Farm Classic into a Monday finish at Panther Creek Country Club. The third round had also been delayed by thunderstorms and heavy rain. That round was f

Young makes second homer a game-winner for D'Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Young's second homer of the game, a two- run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning, rescued the Arizona bullpen and lifted the Diamondbacks to a 7-5 win over St. Louis in the rubber match of a three-g

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.