Wattiors Basketball Betting News

<< Trail Blazers waive Ryan Gomes
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday waived forward Ryan Gomes. Gomes and Luke Babbitt, the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, were acquired by Portland in a draft day trade with the Minnesota T

<< Yao exercises player option with Rockets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has exercised the player option in his contract that will allow him to return to the team for the 2010-11 season. Yao had the option of terminating his contract early

<< Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, Lendl to play at MSG
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York's Madison Square Garden will host an exhibition tennis event in February, as Pete Sampras will play former long- time rival Andre Agassi and John McEnroe will take on former arch-rival Ivan Lendl.

<< Report: Oilers waive Moreau, two others
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have apparently waived captain Ethan Moreau and forwards Robert Nilsson and Patrick O'Sullivan, according to a report on TSN.ca on Tuesday. The reported moves were necessary as th

Braves activate OF Diaz from DL >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves activated outfielder Matt Diaz from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. Diaz, who was placed on the DL on May 15 and underwent surgery on his infected right thumb shortly after, takes t

A Little Warm comes up hot in Delaware >>
Stanton, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three months after finishing second in the Louisiana Derby, A Little Warm got back into action Tuesday afternoon at Delaware Park. The three-year-old colt returned to racing in a 1 1/16-mile allowan

Athletics' Braden scratched from start >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden was scratched hours before his scheduled start against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday due to elbow stiffness. In 15 starts this season, Braden is 4-7 with a 3

Strasburg should be Stars-burg >>
Ryan Franklin spent more than 15 seasons trying to become an All-Star, wending through Bellingham and Appleton and Port City, working as a starter, middleman and setup guy, waiting for that special night to hear the PA announcer call his name, jog t

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.