Rams reduce roster by four players

Football Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced Friday the release of four players, putting the active roster at 71 players.

St. Louis must release 18 more players before Saturday's 6 p.m. (et) deadline.

The four released are safety Brett Johnson, tight end Darcy Johnson, wide receiver Jordan Kent and center Tim Mattran.

The Rams begin the 2010 regular season on Sunday, when they play host to the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals.

Wwwbmlsports Football Betting News

<< Seattle activates Rowland-Smith from DL
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have activated pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith from the 15-day disabled list. He had been sidelined by a lower back strain since July 28. The 27-year-old right-hander made six rehabilit

<< Broncos' LenDale White out for season
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos running back LenDale White was placed on injured reserve Friday and will miss the 2010 season with a torn Achilles tendon. White was hurt during the second quarter of Thursday's 31-24 prese

<< Cardinals release 16 players
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals pared down their roster on Friday, releasing 16 players ahead of Saturday's deadline to reduce the active roster to 53 players. The club announced the release of the following players: l

<< Padres recall Russell
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have recalled right- hander Adam Russell from Triple-A Portland. It will be Russell's fourth stint with the Padres this season. In six games earlier this year, the 27-year-old ga

<< Cook returns from DL to start for Rockies
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have activated pitcher Aaron Cook from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Friday's series opener at San Diego. Cook missed 27 games while sidelined with a sprained right big

Browns place Hardesty on IR, waive six >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns placed rookie running back Montario Hardesty on injured reserve Friday in addition to waiving six players. Hardesty, a second-round pick out of Tennessee, left the Browns' prese

Georgia's Ogletree suspended one game following arrest >>
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia freshman safety Alec Ogletree has been suspended for one game following an arrest last Friday on a theft charge. "Certainly it's an unfortunate sequence of events," said Georgia head coach Mark Ric

Giants activate P Ray >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have activated reliever Chris Ray off the disabled list. Ray, who missed 14 games with a right intercostal strain, has gone 3-0 with a 5.40 earned run average in 20 appearances

Murray cruises into third round in New York >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Andy Murray was an easy straight-set winner on Friday in second round action at the 2010 U.S. Open. Murray needed under 1 1/2 hours to dispatch Jamaican Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3, 6-0, i

Reds' Cabrera comes off DL >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have activated shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the 15-day disabled list. Cabrera hasn't played since August 2 because of a strained left oblique. The 35-year-old was batting .260 with

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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