Report: Modano to join Red Wings

Hockey Betting Lines

08/03/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Modano is reportedly set to sign with the Detroit Red Wings later this week.

The Livonia, Michigan native said in a text message to the Detroit Free Press that he will make a "Big announcement" on Thursday. The Free Press reported Modano will sign with Detroit, which has given him a one-year, $1.25 million offer.

Modano, the first overall pick of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, had spent his entire 20-year career with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise and amassed 557 goals and 802 assists in 1,459 regular season games. The goals and points total (1,359) are the most for any American-born hockey player in NHL history.

The 40-year-old also helped the Stars win their first and only Stanley Cup championship in 1998-99, recording 34 goals and 47 assists during that regular season in addition to 23 playoff points.

In his rookie campaign in 1990, he was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, but he lost out to 31-year-old Sergei Makarov, who had been playing in the Soviet Championship League for 12 years before coming to the NHL. This led to the NHL changing the age requirements for the Calder Trophy so that no one over the age of 26 could win the award.

His playoff records are just as impressive, holding the record for most postseason points by an American-born player with 145 (58 goals, 87 assists) in 174 games.

He is only the 14th player to score 500 goals with one team and 39th, overall.

The Stars did not offer their franchise star a contract following his 14-goal, 16-assist 2009-10 campaign.

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Betting Football

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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.