07/25/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake acquired midfielder/defender Robbie Russell from Viborg FF of the Danish Superliga, the Major League Soccer club announced on Friday.
"I'm really excited about coming home to the United States, especially to Salt Lake," Russell said. "I have family in the area, and I know that RSL has a great atmosphere and great fans. The new stadium has a phenomenal layout; it is top-quality, world-class, and it compares very well to European stadium."
"Russell is exactly the type of player we want," RSL GM Garth Lagerwey said. "He is an American player that has enjoyed success over in Europe and improved greatly. He brings speed, strength and smarts to a locker room full of all three."
Russell, 29, has played the past seven seasons in Scandinavia after being drafted 22nd overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft out Duke University, where he was a four-time All-ACC selection. He played 123 games in Norway and Denmark, which was highlighted by a pair of starts for Rosenborg BK in the 2004 UEFA Champions League.
"We are extremely pleased to be adding yet another talented, intelligent, and experienced American professional returning from abroad," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "Robbie is an athletic and dynamic player who can play multiple positions and will immediately add strength to our team core. We couldn't be happier to finally have this deal done."
<< Report: Favre to report to Packers training camp
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Brett Favre retirement/unretirement
saga apparently took another turn on Friday, with the report that, despite
prior indications from the Packers that they would like him to remain retired,
Favre p
<< Happy days hard to find in Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not only did powerful storms force the suspension of
Wednesday's game with the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards, the lasting
impression of those wild wind gusts and massive downpours seemed to have also
put a damper on the B
<< United owners want to keep Ronaldo
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United chief executive David
Gill has confirmed that the club's owners, the Glazer family, are right behind
the decision to keep Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.
The 23-year-old Portuga
<< Muntari confirms he's close to joining Inter
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari has
confirmed that he is on the verge of sealing a big-money move to join Italian
champions Inter Milan.
The 23-year-old Ghana international only joined Pompey a y
Sandelin, Lundberg on top in Russia >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarmo Sandelin and Mikael Lundberg both
fired rounds of eight-under 64 on Friday and are tied atop the leaderboard
after two rounds of the Russian Open Golf Championship.
Sandelin and Lundberg are tied at 13
Cubs recall former Notre Dame star >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs recalled pitcher Jeff
Samardzija from Triple-A Iowa Friday.
Samardzija, who may be better-known for his football ability as a
wide receiver for Notre Dame, joins the C
Seven tied for Canadian Open lead after first round >>
Oakville, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean O'Hair, Jason Day, Chez Reavie and John
Huston joined Mike Weir, Anthony Kim and Eric Axley in the lead when the first
round of the Canadian Open was completed Friday morning.
O'Hair, Day, Reavie and H
Avalanche ink Svatos >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche re-signed forward
Marek Svatos to a two-year contract on Friday, avoiding an arbitration hearing
scheduled for the same day.
Svatos played in 62 games last season and tota
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.
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