Padresbesbol Football Betting News

<< Inter gets number 10 with 10
Lazio, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan proved once again why it sits at the top of the Serie A table on Wednesday, when the first-place squad defeated Lazio 2-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to capture its 10-stra

<< Ravens place Cody on IR, sign Bannister
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens placed linebacker Dan Cody on injured reserve Wednesday and signed former Pro Bowl wide out Alex Bannister. Cody was taken 53rd overall in the 2005 draft but missed that entire sea

<< Braves agree to terms with Woodward
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves and infielder/outfielder Chris Woodward agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2007 season on Wednesday. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Woodward, 30, played

<< The Rockets are Yao's team
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Star center Yao Ming has been huge for Houston, which is a solid 15-9 and is 3 1/2 games behind the first place San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division. The second place Dallas Mavericks are just one game behind

Henry questionable for Titans >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans running back Travis Henry is listed as questionable for Sunday's showdown on the road against Buffalo with an ankle injury. Henry has a team-leading 974 yards rushing and seven touchd

Jets' Coles listed as questionable >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles is listed as questionable on the team's injury report. Coles missed a portion of practice on Wednesday with a back injury. He caught 12

Nationals agree to terms with Fick >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on Wednesday with catcher/first baseman Robert Fick on a non-guaranteed minor league contract. He also received an invitation to Spring Training. Fick hit .2

Blizzard postpones Suns-Nuggets game >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday's contest between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets was postponed due to a blizzard, dumping as much as two feet of snow. No makeup date has yet been announced. This is the first time

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.