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02/21/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Arenas poured in 38 points, and Washington never trailed in a 112-100 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Arenas was a miserable 1-of-8 from three-point range, but made up for the shortcoming by hitting on 11-of-16 inside the arc to go along with a 13-for-15 performance from the foul line.
DeShawn Stevenson came up with a season-best 23 points for the Southeast Division-leading Wizards, who have won back-to-back contests following a two- game skid. Washington beat Minnesota for just the third time in the last 11 meetings.
Caron Butler contributed 15 points and Andray Blatche tied a career-high with 12 rebounds for Washington.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which has dropped six of its last nine contests. Ricky Davis ended with 24 points and Mike James scored 20 for the Timberwolves.
It was a solid win for the Wizards in the first game after the All-Star break, even though the T'Wolves made a big run in the third to get close and were within six points late in the fourth.
Minnesota trailed 64-48 early in the third, but rallied and closed the gap to 72-68 following a Garnett turnaround jumper with 2:42 remaining in the quarter.
However, Washington widened its margin to 83-74 going into the fourth after Darius Songaila drilled a jumper at the buzzer. Arenas then hit a three and a jumper to start the fourth, but Minnesota managed to rally.
A pair of free throws by James capped a 6-1 spurt, drawing Minnesota within 104-98 with 1:47 remaining.
Antonio Daniels responded with a pair of free throws, and after a turnover and a missed shot by Davis, Blatche put the finishing touches on the victory with a layup inside of a minute left.
Mark Blount and Randy Foye each had 10 points for Minnesota.
Arenas' fadeaway shot capped six consecutive Washington points early for a 10-4 margin and Brendan Haywood's jump hook extended the lead to 19-10. It was 31-19 after 12 minutes and 57-44 a the half.
Game Notes
Minnesota has lost eight of its last 11 at Washington...The home team has won six straight meetings...This was the first of two meeting this season with another contest set for Minneapolis Sunday afternoon...Washington center Etan Thomas returned from a two-game suspension and had eight points and six boards...The Wizards went 3-of-16 from three-point range...Arenas is 8-for-51 on three-point tries this month.
<< Anderson ices the game at the line as Bobcats top Hornets
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 21 points and doled out
11 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats topped the New Orleans/Oklahoma City
Hornets, 104-100.
Gerald Wallace also tallied 21 points, and grabbed seven reb
<< Thomas, Bruins blank Maple Leafs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas stopped 44 shots to record his
third shutout of the season, helping the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 win over the
Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
Stanislav Chistov, P.J. Axelsson, and
<< Thrashers storm past Hurricanes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Hedberg made 33 saves to lead the Atlanta
Thrashers to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in a big Southeast
Division battle at RBC Center.
Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist and Ilya
<< Providence knocks off No. 22 West Virginia
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Alexander missed a wide open three for a
tie with 14.5 seconds left then Herbert Hill iced the tournament resume-
building victory with a breakaway slam, as Providence downed No. 22 West
Virgini
No. 18 Bowling Green rolls over Kent State >>
Kent, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amber Flynn poured in 21 points and led six
players in double figures, as 18th-ranked Bowling Green defeated Kent State,
89-66, at the M.A.C. Center.
Kate Achter scored 14 points, Carin Horne chipped
Crawford, Curry propel Knicks over Magic >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry each scored 20
points to lead the New York Knicks over the Orlando Magic, 100-94, at Madison
Square Garden.
Quentin Richardson added 15 points and David Lee had 14 points and
Nebraska falls to Iowa State >>
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Megan Ronhovde scored 15 points and pulled down
eight rebounds, as Iowa State defeated 25th-ranked Nebraska, 64-53, at Hilton
Coliseum.
Lyndsey Medders poured in 13 points and had nine boards for the Cyclones
(
Higgins, Ryder lead Habs over Caps >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder netted two
goals each to guide the Montreal Canadiens past the Washington Capitals, 5-3,
at the Bell Centre.
Garth Murray added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds and
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.
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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