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<< Darche, Canadiens down Lightning
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Darche scored a pair of goals to help the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3, at the Bell Centre. Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who have won th

<< Flyers rally to down Isles on Gagne's late score
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne was credited with the game- winning power-play goal with 6:06 remaining in regulation, as the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the New York Islanders, 3-2, at Wach

<< Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as he led the Massachusetts Minutemen to a 59-56 win over the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. Harris finis

<< Kulemin lifts Leafs over Bruins in overtime
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Kulemin scored with 49.7 seconds left in overtime, as Toronto tripped up Boston in a 4-3 final from Air Canada Centre. Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski broke out on a 2-on-1 following an end-to-

Williams, Jazz open road trip with win over Bulls >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams poured in 28 points with a game- best 17 assists, as Utah used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Chicago, 132-108, at the United Center. C.J. Miles scored 26 points off the bench, includi

Stillman keys rare win for Panthers over Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cory Stillman forced overtime with a third- period equalizer, then snuck a shot inside the left post for the lone score in the shootout, as Florida downed Minnesota, 3-2, to snap a seven-game winless stretch

Oakland punches NCAA tourney ticket >>
Sioux Falls, SD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland punched its NCAA Tournament ticket for the second time in school history, climbing on the back of Derick Nelson's 36 points to win the Summit League Tournament Championship with a 76-64 victory

Butler takes Horizon League crown in rout >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack each scored 14 points, as the 12th-ranked Butler Bulldogs officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 70-45 victory over Wright State in the Horizon League

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs.

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.