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08/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics on Tuesday waived forward Rasheed Wallace, paving the way for the veteran's retirement.
Wallace, who will turn 36 in September, had two years remaining on his three- year, $18.9 million contract with the Celtics.
"We would like to thank Rasheed for everything that he did for this team and organization last season," said Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. "We would like to wish Rasheed and his family the best as they move on into the next phase of their lives. He will always be a member of the Celtics family."
The 35-year-old came to the franchise as a free agent in July 2009. He played in 79 regular-season games with Boston last year, averaging 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest over 22.5 minutes per game. He was a key presence in the Celtics' drive for an 18th championship, one that was derailed in a Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Known for his tenacious play and tendency to pick up numerous technical fouls, Wallace would end his career with 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over 1,088 contests with five clubs.
A native of Philadelphia who played for collegiate powerhouse North Carolina, Wallace was taken by Washington with the fourth overall pick in the 1995 draft, but spent just one season playing in the nation's capital before being traded to Portland.
Wallace was with the Trail Blazers from 1996-2004 before he was traded to Atlanta. Just 10 days later, on February 19, 2004, Wallace was dealt to Detroit and he excelled for the Pistons, helping them to the championship later that year.
<< N.Y., Henry set for huge match against Toronto
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York should have Thierry Henry in
the starting lineup Wednesday against Toronto FC, but Rafael Marquez will miss
the Major League Soccer match while on international duty with Mexico.
New York's t
<< Rohanna shares medalist honors at Women's Amateur
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A day after setting the scoring record at the
U.S. Women's Amateur, Rachel Rohanna struggled to a one-over 73, but still
managed to share medalist honors as the second round of stroke play was
complet
<< Reds and Cardinals tempers flare
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals
were involved in a benches-clearing incident before the bottom of the first
inning got underway in Tuesday's game at Great American Ball Park.
Brandon Phillips, w
<< Mickelson battling arthritis
Kohler, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson has had a chance to overtake
Tiger Woods as the top player in the world rankings in his last two starts,
but hasn't gotten the job done.
Now we know that Mickelson didn't just have a few
Mainz signs goalie Pieckenhagen to one-year deal >>
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mainz sealed the signing of veteran goalie
Martin Pieckenhagen on a one-year contract Tuesday.
Pieckenhagen spent the last five years at the first-team goalie at Dutch club
Heracles. Mainz signed Piecken
Stuttgart signs Audel from Valenciennes >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart acquired Johan Audel from
French club Valenciennes and signed him to a four-year deal.
Audel, a striker/winger, scored seven goals in 26 Ligue 1 appearances one year
ago for Valenciennes.
Braves' Jones leaves game >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones left
Tuesday's game against Houston in the bottom of the sixth with an apparent leg
injury.
Jones was hurt making a spectacular defensive play to throw out Hunter Penc
Hellickson impressive again, Rays shut down Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Hellickson tossed seven scoreless
innings in his second major league start, as the Tampa Bay Rays dominated the
Detroit Tigers, 8-0, in the second test of a three-game series at Comerica
Park.
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.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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