07/25/2008 - Florence, Italy (Soccer Betting) - Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli is delighted to have seen his club reject a major offer from Serie A rivals Roma for star striker Adrian Mutu.
Prandelli was concerned that he would be left with little time to find a replacement for Mutu, who has scored 38 goals in two seasons with La Viola.
"It's true that I was worried," Prandelli told La Repubblica. "But inside I never doubted that it would end like this. It wasn't simple optimism, but logic.
"If you spend over [$100] million on reinforcing a squad and there are 20 days left before the Champions League preliminaries, then it doesn't make sense to sell your main man.
"The president is a wily man and I want to thank him for his efforts."
Mutu had been linked with a move to German club Schalke earlier this summer, while the Florence club are reported to have rejected an offer in the region of $32 million from Roma.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Da' Tara returns in Jim Dandy Stakes
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belmont Stakes champ Da' Tara returns
to the racetrack Sunday in the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga where he
will face seven rivals. The Jim Dandy is the traditional local prep race for
the $1
<< Tottenham needs to offload players to add Arshavin
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham Hotspur's attempts to sign Russia
playmaker Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg hinge on the north London
club being able to offload players to fund the bid.
The 27-year-old, who impres
<< Report: Lions sign CB Bodden to extension
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions have reportedly come to
terms on a four-year contract extension with cornerback Leigh Bodden.
The Detroit Free-Press reported Friday on the deal, which will pay Bodden up
to $27 million over
<< Blue Jackets sign LW York
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets signed
left wing Mike York to a one-year contract on Friday. Per club policy,
financial terms were not disclosed.
York, 30, tallied six goals and eight assis
Hamburg reject Real offer for Van der Vaart >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg have confirmed that they have
rejected an offer from Real Madrid for Dutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart.
The 25-year-old is being lined up for a big-money move to the Bernabeu, but
Hambur
Portsmouth will keep midfielder Mendes >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp says he
will not allow midfielder Pedro Mendes to leave the club, due to Sulley
Muntari's imminent exit from Fratton Park.
Portugal international Mendes was a t
New York, San Jose aim to start second half on right foot >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the New York Red Bulls and San Jose
Earthquakes square off at San Jose on Sunday, it will be a battle of the last
place teams in their respective conferences. Heading into the second half of
the sea
K.C., Wolff hope to extend run against Chicago >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States striker Josh Wolff returned to
Kansas City just in time.
Wolff left the Wizards and Major League Soccer after the 2006 season and played
1 1/2 years in Germany, but returned K.C. this month on
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.
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting