12/04/2008 - Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hull City striker Caleb Folan has been ruled out of the next two games following minor surgery to cure a knee problem.
Folan has missed the last two games with the problem and will now sit out Saturday's visit of Middlesbrough and the following weekend's clash with Liverpool at Anfield.
The striker has started just one Premier League game for the Tigers this season, but has made nine appearances in all competitions.
"Unfortunately we're going to have to do a small operation where Caleb is concerned," manager Phil Brown told the club's official website.
"He definitely won't be involved on Saturday. We think he will be out for the same length of time that Bernard Mendy was - around ten days to a fortnight.
"Fingers crossed, everything will go okay."
Meanwhile, Dean Marney is set to face Boro at the KC Stadium on Saturday following the midfielder's return to training from a dead leg injury.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Admirals add Quick, Lawrence from now defunct ECHL Augusta
Norfolk, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning reassigned defenseman
Kevin Quick and right winger Chris Lawrence to their American Hockey League
affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, from the now defunct Augusta Lynx of the
ECHL, i
<< Fresno State to play in New Mexico Bowl
Fresno, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresno State has accepted a bid to play in the
New Mexico Bowl.
The Bulldogs (7-5) will face a Mountain West school on Saturday, December 20
in Albuquerque. It marks the ninth bowl game in the past 10 season
<< Espanyol's Tamudo to miss two months
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Espanyol skipper Raul Tamudo is set to be
sidelined for around two months due to a hamstring injury.
The 31-year-old Spain international striker suffered his injury in the 1-0 home
defeat by Sporting Gi
<< Manning, Peppers, Smith capture NFC monthly awards
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning,
Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick
returner Clifton Smith were chosen as the NFC's top players for the month of
Novembe
Ottawa returns Shannon to Binghamton >>
Binghamton, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators returned right winger
Ryan Shannon to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton
Senators, it was announced on Thursday.
Shannon was recalled on Nov. 12 and recor
Andersen named new football coach at Utah State >>
Logan, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah State has named Gary Andersen its new head
football coach.
Andersen has been an assistant at Utah for the past five years and for 11 of
the past 12 years. The run was interrupted by a one-year stint
Japanese P Tazawa signs with BoSox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa has signed a
three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Boston Globe said the
contract is around $3 mill
Blue Jackets LW Torres to have surgery >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Raffi Torres
will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday.
Torres, who was placed on the injured reserve list on Tuesday for the second
time this season, is expected to
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.
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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