Report: Sixers hire Rod Thorn as president

Basketball Betting Lines

08/11/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly hired Rod Thorn as president, allowing Ed Stefanski to focus his role solely on general manager.

Stefanski was serving in a dual-capacity as GM and president.

Thorn spent 10 years as team president and general manager of the New Jersey Nets, but announced last month he was stepping down. The Nets then named Billy King as their new GM.

The 69-year-old Thorn was the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations from 1986-2000. Before that he served as GM of the Chicago Bulls and was instrumental in the club's selection of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft.

Wwwasurebet Basketball Betting News

<< Stanton powers Marlins past Nats
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Mike Stanton went a career-best 5-for-5 with a homer and drove in four runs to power Florida to a 9-5 win over the Washington Nationals. Hanley Ramirez also homered and Logan Morrison had a

<< Hall, Red Sox pound Blue Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Hall hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs, as Boston used the long ball to support Clay Buchholz in a 10-1 pounding of Toronto at Rogers Centre. Hill finished 3-for-5, Adrian Beltre hit a t

<< Union, RSL battle to draw at PPL Park
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake earned its second straight 1-1 road draw by tying the expansion Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night at PPL Park. The result comes four days after the defending MLS Cup champions earned a 1-

<< Phils shut down Dodgers in Oswalt's first win with new club
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt worked seven scoreless innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies take a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second of a three-game set. Oswalt (7-13), making his third start since he

<< Bergesen keeps Baltimore rolling with CG win over Indians
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Bergesen gave up just one run on two hits en route to the second complete game of his young career, as the Baltimore Orioles took down the Cleveland Indians, 3-1, in the second test of a three

Danks dominant as ChiSox down Twins >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks stifled Minnesota over eight frames and Carlos Quentin highlighted Chicago's offense with a two-run homer, as the White Sox upended the Twins, 6-1, in a key American League Central matchup. The Twi

Nadal, Murray and Djokovic win second-rounders in Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, reigning champion Andy Murray and world No. 2 Novak Djokovic were each second-round winners Wednesday at the $2.43 million Roger Cup, an ATP Masters event. The reigning Wimbledon and Fr

Wozniacki moves on in rainy Cincy >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was a second-round winner Wednesday at the $2 million Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, a hardcourt U.S. Open Series event. Last week's Copenhagen

Back-to-back times two! Arizona's four straight HRs down Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona tied a major league record by homering in four straight at-bats off Milwaukee's Dave Bush in the fourth inning, on the way to a 8-2 victory at Miller Park. Adam LaRoche, Miguel Montero,

Yankees rally past Rangers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames capped a two-run ninth with an RBI single, as the New York Yankees rallied past the Texas Rangers, 7-6, to split a brief two-game series at Rangers Ballpark. Thames went 3-for-5 with a so

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.

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.