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09/03/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals activated pitchers Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar from the disabled list, and catcher Jason Kendall underwent successful surgery to repair his right shoulder.
Bannister was on the DL with rotator cuff tendinitis and hasn't pitched since August 2. He's lost his last six decisions and has a 7-11 record with a 5.95 ERA in 22 starts this season.
Hochevar has been on the shelf since June 11 with a right elbow strain and is 5-4 with a 4.96 ERA over 13 starts, including one complete game.
The pair are both set to pitch next Tuesday in Minnesota. Bannister is set to start, and Hochevar will relieve him.
Kendall, meanwhile, needed to repair several muscles in his labrum and will need 8-to-12 months to recover, a bigger range than the previously reported 8- to-10 months.
The 36-year-old receiver batted .256 with 37 RBI in 118 games this season. He signed a two-year contract with Kansas City last December.
<< Johnson, Day share Deutsche Bank lead
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Johnson and Jason Day both fired eight-
under 63s to share the lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank
Championship.
With Hurricane Earl bearing down on the Northeast coast, players wer
<< Reds' Cabrera comes off DL
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have activated shortstop
Orlando Cabrera from the 15-day disabled list.
Cabrera hasn't played since August 2 because of a strained left oblique.
The 35-year-old was batting .260 with
<< Murray cruises into third round in New York
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Andy Murray was an easy
straight-set winner on Friday in second round action at the 2010 U.S. Open.
Murray needed under 1 1/2 hours to dispatch Jamaican Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3,
6-0, i
<< Giants activate P Ray
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have activated
reliever Chris Ray off the disabled list.
Ray, who missed 14 games with a right intercostal strain, has gone 3-0 with a
5.40 earned run average in 20 appearances
Bucks sign Hobson >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks signed second-round draft
choice guard Darington Hobson to an undisclosed contract on Friday.
Hobson, the 37th overall pick in this year's draft, averaged 16.4 points, 8.8
rebounds and 3
Kentucky gets second Truck Series date in 2011 >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR announced on Friday that Kentucky
Speedway will host a second Camping World Truck Series race during the 2011
season.
The Thursday, July 7 event will mark the 10th race on next year's tr
Sisk leads delayed Mylan Classic >>
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geoffrey Sisk was atop the leaderboard
Friday when the second round of the inaugural Mylan Classic was suspended due
to darkness.
Sisk, one of two first-round leaders, was minus-four for his round
Clijsters, Venus roll into U.S. Open fourth round >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters and
Venus Williams took easy third-round wins Friday at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Clijsters dropped the first three games of her match
against 27th-se
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.
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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