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07/22/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul will reportedly sit down with management of the New Orleans Hornets on Monday, when he's expected to express his wishes to be traded.
Several media outlets, including the New Orleans Times Picayune, report Paul will meet with new head coach Monty Williams and new general manager Dell Demps.
Paul has two years remaining on his contract before he can opt out with the Hornets. His contract will pay him about $45 million over the next three seasons, as he has a player option for 2012-13 worth nearly $18 million.
The fourth overall pick out of Wake Forest by the Hornets in the 2005 draft, Paul averaged 18.7 points, 10.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 steals this past season. He played in just 45 games due to various injuries.
Just prior to this year's draft, Hornets owner George Shinn released a statement, saying Paul is the franchise's "cornerstone" and the player the team will continue to build around.
But Paul reportedly is concerned about the Hornets' slow offseason moves this summer. The team signed guard Luther Head earlier this month and also re- signed backup center Aaron Gray.
Paul led the Hornets to the Western Conference semifinals in 2007-08 and the team reached the playoffs the following season. But this past season New Orleans went 37-45.
<< Hanley commits future to Blackburn
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn has handed teenage defender
Grant Hanley a new five-year contract.
The Scotland Under-19 captain made his Premier League debut in the final game
of last season against Aston Villa and is
<< Jol turns down Fulham job
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham will have to look elsewhere for a
new manager after Martin Jol turned down the chance to return to the Premier
League.
The former Tottenham boss has decided to stay in charge of Ajax af
<< Newcastle adds former Everton midfielder Gosling
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-promoted Newcastle signed former
Everton midfielder Dan Gosling to a four-year contract on Thursday.
Gosling, 20, is the second addition for Newcastle ahead of its return to the
Premier League
<< Delahoussaye leads by two in Canada
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Delahoussaye fired an eight-under 62
Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Canadian Open.
Delahoussaye's 62 at St. George's Golf & Country Club matched the tournament's
18-hole
Chelsea's Alex to miss start of season >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea defender Alex will miss the start
of the English Premier League season with a thigh injury that will sideline
for one month, the club announced on Thursday.
Alex was injured in training, joini
Westermann signs five-year deal with Hamburg >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heiko Westermann finalized his move
from Schalke to Hamburg on Thursday, as the German defender signed a five-year
deal with his new club.
Westermann, 26, had 12 goals in 92 matches for Schalke. H
Hamburg loans striker Berg to PSV >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg loaned 23-year-old striker Marcus
Berg to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.
Berg joined PSV on a one-year loan deal. PSV is coached by former Schalke boss
Fred Rutten. Berg scored four goals i
Mariners deal minor league INF Hannahan to Red Sox >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners traded minor league
infielder Jack Hannahan to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later
or cash considerations.
Hannahan, a third-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2001
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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