Basketball Betting








 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Count Fleet Stakes set for Saturday

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/02/2012 - Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seven possible Kentucky Derby contenders have been entered in Saturday's $150,000 Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct. The mile and 70 yard race is the first of New York's preps leading to the Wood Memorial in April.

Alpha, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, will carry the Godolphin Racing banner in the Count Fleet. The three-year-old colt will start from post five with Ramon Dominguez getting the mount.

Second to Union Rags in the Champagne, Alpha was 11th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile won by Hansen with Union Rags second. With one win in three starts Alpha has banked $90,000.

The front running Il Villano will break from the rail with Jose Flores riding. The colt is trained by Susan Crowell for Chuck Russo.

Il Villano won the Lord Henribee Stakes at Aqueduct in November and the following month captured the Southampton Stakes at Parx Racing. He has three wins in four starts for $125,300.

Here is the full field for the Count Fleet in post position order: Il Villano, Jose Flores; How Do I Win, Cornelio Velasquez; Whistleblower, Ariel Smith; Stephanoatsee, Junior Alvarado; Alpha, Ramon Dominguez; Speightscity, David Cohen and Shkspeare Shaliyah, Jose Valdivia Jr.

Post-time on Saturday will be 3:37 p.m. (et).


<< Debose helps Florida top Ohio State in Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Debose set a Gator Bowl record with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Florida hung on to beat Ohio State, 24-17, on Monday. Debose's return up the left sideline in the second quar

<< Report: Steelers RB Mendenhall has torn ACL
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will be placed on injured reserve, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mendenhall

<< Spurs assign Neal to rehab assignment
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have assigned guard Gary Neal to the Austin Toros of the NBDL for a medical rehab assignment. Neal underwent an appendectomy on December 12, 2011. Neal averaged 9.8 points and 2

<< Texas Southern to introduce Asberry
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Southern University will introduce new head football coach Darrell Asberry in a news conference on campus Tuesday. Asberry was named the 15th head coach in the Southwestern Athletic Conference program's h

<< Ryan on the Jets: 'We all made mistakes'
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan said he was among many that made mistakes during a season in which the team finished 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time during his three-year tenure.

Colts fire execs Bill and Chris Polian >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saying he wants to move the team in a new direction, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay fired two top executives on Monday. Vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, general manager Chris Polian, bec

Conroy sends Michigan State over Georgia in Outback Bowl >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan State's Dan Conroy made a pair of field goals in a triple-overtime thriller, lifting the 12th-ranked Spartans to a 33-30 victory over the 18th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl. Michigan

Utah's Howard fined >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz forward Josh Howard has been fined $25,000 for his Flagrant Foul Two in Utah's 104-89 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. The fine was announced by Stu Jackson -- NBA Execut

Nash leads Suns over Warriors >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash netted 13 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to go with nine assists, as the Phoenix Suns topped the Golden State Warriors, 102-91 at US Airways Center. Markieff Morris finished with

Lundqvist seals Winter Classic win for Rangers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rangers scored three unanswered goals against backup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Henrik Lundqvist stopped a penalty shot in the final minute Monday, lifting New York to a 3-2 win over Philade

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.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.