Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/08/2010 -
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -When No. 12 Miami visits No. 2 Ohio State in a long-hyped matchup this Saturday, the Hurricanes know they won't see many friendly faces in the stands.
Maybe that's why Miami coach Randy Shannon surrounded himself with a roomful of backers Tuesday.
Making an unusual addition to his regimented game-week schedule - considering this might be the biggest matchup of his tenure with the Hurricanes - Shannon took a few hours to mingle with and then address 100 lunching boosters, most of whom wore either suits and ties or some sort of Miami-themed attire.
``I think this is unbelievable,'' Shannon told the group. ``I think this is the first time in a long time we've had this kind of support.''
Football coaches tend to have just about every minute plotted during game weeks, especially when it's a game that might end up carrying championship implications.
Shannon isn't really an exception to that rule. So it was surprising to see the coach in a gray suit and blue shirt at the front of a dining room, taking questions for about 30 minutes and spending probably twice that much time simply milling about and shaking a few hands.
Despite his insistence otherwise, maybe Shannon does think meeting Ohio State is a big deal after all.
``That's what we came here for, the big games, the spotlight,'' running back Damien Berry said. ``That's why we're at 'The U,' right? It's most definitely one of the highlight games of the season.''
Shannon was relaxed, laughing, smiling, emotions he doesn't always show when he's at work and hardly ever shows to fans who watch him on gamedays. He didn't make big news, other than revealing quarterback Jacory Harris ``injured'' - a word the coach rarely uses - his thumb against North Carolina last year and dealt with more pain in the last three games of 2009 than the team ever acknowledged.
Other than that, Shannon told the boosters what they wanted to hear: Miami is getting closer to championship form. Shannon didn't make any grandiose predictions for the game, or the season either, but told fans some of the reasons why the Hurricanes feel confident heading into a game that could vault them back into the national spotlight.
``A game like this, you've got to take it in stride,'' Shannon said. ``We've been there before.''
And shortly after he was done, his car pulled up alongside the restaurant, Shannon hopped in and headed back to work in Coral Gables, maybe 45 minutes away with traffic.
When it was over, Shannon was clearly happy he found the time in his schedule for the rare get-together.
``Anytime I can be around what I call my friends, or associates, it's great,'' Shannon said. ``I was saying this earlier: Anytime you can be around somebody who's passionate for the University of Miami, that's what it's all about. And to come out and enjoy things like that, that is my typical day.''
Within reason, of course.
If he stayed and answered every question everyone in the room had for him, Shannon might have missed Friday's flight to Ohio.
``It's no different for me this week,'' Shannon said before his appearance. ``It's just like me going to the grocery store. That's how I have to treat it. Yeah, people know who I am. They speak, I speak back and I keep going. There can't be a deal where I speak for 30 minutes with this person, 15 more with that person and so on. I think people respect that. I've got things I've got to get done.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Marson slams Indians past Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Marson's first career grand slam
highlighted a five-run sixth inning, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1
victory over the struggling Los Angeles Angels in the middle test of a three-
game se
<< Nadal cruises into QFs; Verdasco rallies to shock Ferrer
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal breezed in three sets
over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Tuesday and moved into the quarterfinals
at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament the current world No. 1 has
yet to
<< Mariners hold off A's
Oakland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki registered two more hits in his quest
for his 10th consecutive 200-hit season and drove in a run, as Seattle held
off Oakland, 7-5, hampering the Athletics in their attempt to gain ground in
the AL
<< Latos sets MLB record as Padres top Dodgers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos tossed seven innings of one-run
baseball to set an MLB record, as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in the second test of a three-game series at Petco Park.
Lato
Big-time programs square off huge Week 2 matchups >>
JoePa visits the Bear's house. The 'Canes blow into the Horseshoe for a rematch of the 2002 national championship game. Florida State's first big game post-Bowden takes place in Norman, Okla., a rematch of the 2000 national title game.The second wee
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 8th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
QUARTERFINALS
Spain vs. Serbia, 11 a.m.
Slovenia vs. Turkey, 2 p.m.
Marlins to skip Johnson's next start >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will miss
his next scheduled start because of shoulder and back pain.
Johnson was slated to pitch Friday against Washington, but the Marlins now
plan to start Alex Sana
A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West
Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a
postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in
the finale of a
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: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting