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03/22/2009 - Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic failed to take hold of the Scottish Premier League as the Hoops needed an 80th-minute goal from Lee Naylor to salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Sunday.
Celtic could have gone five points clear of second-placed Rangers with a win after Walter Smith's men were held to a 2-2 draw by Hearts on Saturday, but after Scott McDonald's opener in the 24th minute, Francisco Sandaza tallied twice for United before Naylor grabbed the equalizer with 10 minutes to play.
Aiden McGeady threatened early in the match for Celtic, but the Hoops went in front after 24 minutes from a corner kick.
Paul Hartley's cross was deflected towards his own goal by United's Garry Kenneth, forcing goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska to parry the ball into the air. McDonald took advantage as he was on hand to head home from close range for his 13th league goal of the campaign.
United's Morgaro Gomis needed to clear the ball off the goal line from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's header to keep his side within a goal at the break, but they came out strong after the restart and leveled the match in the 47th minute.
Paul Dixon's corner kick was driven to the near post for Sandaza, and he flicked it high into the net past a number of Celtic players, while the second goal was just 10 minutes away.
Dixon once again played provider as he was sent down the right wing by James Wesolowski and crossed for the Spaniard to slot home.
Celtic heaped the pressure on over the last 20 minutes with McDonald forcing a good save from Zaluska, but he was unable to keep out a fantastic volley from Naylor after a poor clearance by Kenneth, helping Celtic take a point back to Glasgow.
<< BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
<< Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash
today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
showdown at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con
<< No. 1 Louisville to try and avoid upset at hands of Siena
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Midwest Regional was full of upsets on the
first day and the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will try to avoid one
themselves against the ninth-seeded Siena Saints in second-round play at UD
Arena this evening.
<< Surging clubs meet as Rangers host Sens at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of hot teams will meet tonight in the Big Apple, as
the New York Rangers welcome the Ottawa Senators for an Eastern Conference
battle at Madison Square Garden.
The Senators have won four straight and eight of their
Liverpool moves to within one point of United >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gerrard scored three times to
lead Liverpool to a resounding 5-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday,
reducing Manchester United's lead over the Reds to just one point.
United still has
Twente closes gap to nine points >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twente revived its fading title hopes
on Sunday with a 2-1 win over 10-man Groningen at Arke Stadion, while leaders
AZ Alkmaar finished 0-0 with Feyenoord.
Groningen was reduced to 10 men just 12
Not So Hard: Syracuse advances to Sweet 16 >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins
added 17, as Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a
78-67 victory over Arizona State at American Airlines Arena.
Rick Jackson chipped
Top-seeded Huskies cruise into second round >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles piled up 32 points and 11
rebounds, leading the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to a 104-65 rout over the
16th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charles
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.
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