11/20/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger didn't let a bitter, snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down Cincinnati, 27-10, at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger completed 17-of-30 passes, with five of those passes going to Santonio Holmes, who was shaken up on a a helmet-to-helmet hit and did not return after amassing 84 receiving yards.
Willie Parker found little running room with 37 yards on 14 carries, but Mewelde Moore had more success with 56 yards on 15 carries to go along with four catches for 41 yards. Heath Miller caught four passes for 44 yards and a score for the Steelers (8-3), who won their fifth straight in the series for the first time since 1993.
Pittsburgh now leads the AFC North by 1 1/2 games over Baltimore, which plays Philadelphia on Sunday.
"It is what is," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said about his team's position in the division and AFC playoff picture. "We are not over-evaluating at this point. We are living week to week. As long as we continue to live in a tunnel, we will be fine."
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception in defeat. Cedric Benson ran for 35 yards and Glenn Holt caught a touchdown pass for the Bengals (1-9-1), who played without star wideout Chad Johnson, who was suspended earlier in the day Thursday for violating team rules.
"We need to be able to run the football more effectively. We need to be able to convert. It's disappointing," stated Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
After a late game in the snow last Sunday, it took awhile for the Steelers to get into game action on a early winter night at half-full Heinz Field.
After two Pittsburgh punts and one on the Bengals side, Cincinnati marched down the field to take the lead. Third down conversions were the key, as the Bengals were successful on three third downs, including the 10-yard slant for a score from Fitzpatrick to the little-used kick returner Holt.
Each team punted before the Steelers offense finally gained traction in the light snow. Roethlisberger found his tight end Miller on a hot read for 14 yards and zipped a strike across the middle to Hines Ward, who weaved his way across the field for 37 yards to the Bengals 13-yard line. Later in the march, Roethlisberger's eight-yard pass to rookie Limas Sweed ended a yard short of the marker. Mike Tomlin rolled the dice, and Gary Russell's second effort picked up the first down. The gamble proved genius as Roethlisberger located Miller in the flat for a three-yard score and a tie game.
Pittsburgh then rode Jeff Reed's right leg to the lead. A 27-yard strike followed by a 22-yard dart to Holmes highlighted a march that ended with Reed's 37-yard field goal.
The Steelers defense stiffened late in the half after a Bengals punt hit off the hand of Sweed, giving Cincinnati the football inside the Pittsburgh 40-yard line. It didn't manage any points, however, before intermission.
Reed's second field goal of the game, a 38-yard boot that hugged the right upright, pushed the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter. Roethlisberger's 19- yard third-down conversion to Holmes was the big play on the possession.
The Steelers added a little more cushion to their edge late in the third stanza. The seven-play march included plenty of Moore, who ran for five and 15 yards before taking a screen pass 22 yards down the right sideline. Roethlisberger's 19-yard pass to Miller preceded Russell's two-yard touchdown walk into the end zone out wide to the right.
During the fourth quarter, Cincinnati put together an 11-play marathon that knocked on the doorstep of the Steelers end zone before stalling inside the 10-yard line. Fitzpatrick's 15-yard completion to Andre Caldwell kick started a drive that ended with Shayne Graham's 26-yard field goal.
Roethlisberger converted a big 3rd-and-10 on the next series, breaking out of a would-be sack deep in the backfield, slipping to the left and firing across his body to Sweed for 17 yards. Moore then handled the bulk of the work until Roethlisberger barreled his way into the end zone from eight yards out for a 27-10 edge with 2:22 to go.
Game Notes
Troy Polamalu's fifth interception of the season ended a late fourth- quarter Bengals drive into the Steelers red zone...LaMarr Woodley registered the lone Pittsburgh sack...Chris Kirkpatrick, of N'Sync fame and a Pennsylvania native, sang the national anthem...The Bengals converted just 4- of-15 third downs, while Pittsburgh was successful on 6-of-14 third-down tries...The Steelers outgained the Bengals, 364-208.
<< Gators power past Southern Utah
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Calathes scored 18 points, grabbed
seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Florida over
Southern Utah, 64-50, at the O'Connell Center.
Dan Werner added nine points for the
<< Dwyer leads Georgia Tech past Miami
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 128 yards and a pair
of touchdowns, and Georgia Tech rolled up 472 yards on the ground in a 41-23
romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and
<< Kane scores twice as Chicago downs Stars
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Kane scored twice to pace the Blackhawks
to a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars as Chicago continued its successful
six-game road trip.
Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists, while Brian Campbel
<< Rondo, Celtics cruise past Pistons
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo had 18 points and doled out eight
assists to help the Celtics to a 98-80 victory over the Pistons in a rematch
of last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his
MSG shocker! Michigan upsets UCLA >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big
free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the
end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship
game of
Lakers roll past Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom
filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the
red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.
Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po
Kings cool off Capitals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown and Michal Handzus each had a
goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat Washington, 5-2, handing the
Capitals their first regular loss since November 1.
Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar an
Four share lead at Hong Kong Open >>
Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen fired an eight-under 62 on
Friday to spotlight a four-way tie for the lead after the second round of the
Hong Kong Open.
Oliver Fisher (65), Chawalit Plaphol (66) and European Ryder Cup
MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
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2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
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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