Rocjets Horseracing Betting News

<< Raonic defends title in San Jose
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milos Raonic successfully defended his 2011 SAP Open title with a straight-set win over Denis Istomin in Sunday's finale. The third-seeded Canadian fired seven aces and never offered a break oppor

<< Yankees-Pirates finalize Burnett trade
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have officially traded right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a pair of minor leaguers -- relief pitcher Diego Moreno and outfielder Exicardo Cayones. The

<< Drill masters San Vicente Stakes
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drill, ridden by Martin Garcia, held off American Act to win Sunday's $150,000 San Vicente Stakes for three-year-olds at Santa Anita Park. The colt covered the seven-furlongs in 1:21.28 on a fast track.

<< Haas wins thriller at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Haas holed an unlikely 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to defeat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley and win the Northern Trust Open. After a pair of incredible birdie putts from Mic

Iowa upsets No. 18 Indiana >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Gatens scored a career-high 30 points, including 7-of-10 from long range, as Iowa knocked off No. 18 Indiana 78-66 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. Melsahn Basabe scored 13 points, pulled down s

Brodeur lifts Devils over Habs >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur made 21 saves as the New Jersey Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1, on Sunday. Zach Parise, David Clarkson and Matt Taormina each lit the lamp for the Devils, who won their third

Pistons knock off Celtics >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Monroe led five Pistons in double figures with 17 points to go with 10 rebounds, leading Detroit past the Boston Celtics for the second time in five days, 96-81, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Irving leads Cavs over Kings >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyrie Irving dropped one foul shot through the basket, then two. Nothing unusual there, except, with four tenths of a second to play, the first tied the game and the second won it. Irving scored 23 po

Betting Football

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.