It’s that time of the year again - almost like Christmas in August. Football is starting this week and wise investors are checking their bankroll along with their preseason schedule.

Here are some tips for preseason betting and remember that this still is preseason. It doesn’t count for the coaches and you won’t get a 100% effort from the players in every game. But your money is still green, so losing it in the regular season or preseason counts the same.

1)Don’t go crazy with 10 picks per week. This is preseason and there are only so few investment opportunities. Make sure your plays are investigated thoroughly before you select them.

2)Look at the quarterback competitions. For example, in Cleveland, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will be fighting all preseason. Tampa Bay has one with rookie Josh Freeman and Byron Leftwich. San Francisco has two gems in Alex Smith and Shaun Hill. The NY Jets has rookie Mark Sanchez trying to fight off Kellen Clemens. These are teams that are going to play their 1 and 1A quarterbacks at least three quarters some games. While other teams like New England will be going with Kevin O’Connell for most of the game.

3)Using trends are a little more helpful in the preseason, but stick to using coaching trends. In other words, does it really matter if Seattle is 21-4 ATS in Week 3? It would mean more under Mike Holmgren, who obviously used that week for a dress rehearsal, but not as much for new coach Jim Mora. Detroit is also 2-10 and 9-4 OVER in Week 3. With a new coach in Jim Schwartz, again, that may not matter a whole lot.

There are 11 new coaches this season and seven of them have never coached before: Jim Caldwell (Indy), Todd Haley (KC), Josh McDaniels, (Denver), Raheem Morris (Tampa Bay), Rex Ryan (NY Jets), Jim Schwartz (Detroit), Steve Spagnuolo (St. Louis). Mike Singletary (SF) and Tom Cable (Oakland) were interim coaches last season and are preparing for their first preseason. Eric Mangini (Cleveland) previously coached for the NY Jets and Jim Mora (Seattle) coached with Atlanta.

Some current coaches really do care as Jack Del Rio (Jacksonville) is 18-6 SU and 16-8 ATS overall in preseason. Bill Belichick is 31-26 overall SU and 30-22-4 ATS, while winning five of his last six games in Week 3. Of course, Week 3 is a dress rehearsal for most teams and the cream usually rises to the top in that situation.

Some coaches can care less about preseason. Andy Reid (Philadelphia) is just 14-26 SU and 19-21 ATS overall. When you have Donovan McNabb, the last thing you want to see is him go down with an injury in the preseason. Kevin Kolb is still unproven so expect the Eagles to utilize him as much as possible.

4)Trends are only as good if you the information to go along with it. DO SOME RESEARCH. You can look at every team’s website in the NFL (at NFL.com) and many coaches a few days before the game will tell the media who is going to play and for how long. For example, Jeff Fisher gives his Training Camp report on Tuesday. He may discuss an injury, but the closer it gets to game time, the most revealing he’s going to be about Kerry Collins, Vince Young and Patrick Ramsey’s playing time.

You can also check many websites out there like ESPN.com, CBSsportsline.com, FOXsports.com, etc., as well as a site like USSportsPages.com that will give you a link for every major newspaper for each team. The link takes you right to the football section of the sports page and you can usually find a good scoop about an injury or a coach’s gameplan.

Finally, be careful and make sure you have plenty left in your bankroll before college football and Week 1 of the regular season starts. The preseason should be fun and there should be several great betting opportunities each week.

If you have any more questions or you don’t have the time to go the entire season without help, call ATS Consultants at 1-800-772-1287.

They aren’t exactly lined up down the street to take a chance on Michael Vick. The only team or league that wants to take a chance is the UFL-the United Football League. That’s the league that offers Dennis Green and Jim Fassel as head coaches and they are offering him a $1 million.

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Vick is out of jail, after serving 18 months for running a dogfighting ring and is now reinstated with conditions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Vick doesn’t have a team right now, but can participate in all team activities except games. Vick will reportedly apply for full reinstatement as early as Week 1, though Goodell could wait as long as Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).

Is that fair? Probably not, though if Vick is a good citizen why not reinstate him by Week 2? Let him miss the first game, which won’t matter anways. Vick has missed two seasons of football and as a quarterback, he’ll likely be rusty. He’s not going back to Atlanta, so he’ll need to learn a new playbook and system.

Some of the teams mentioned as homes for Vick are no surprise. The Oakland Raiders is one obvious choice. Does Al Davis really care about PETA knocking on his door? Of course not and with a struggling young quarterback in JaMarcus Russell and an aging one in Jeff Garcia, imagine Vick running the “Wildcat” formation?

Washington is another possibility, though they are denying it. Cincinnati appears to be perfect, despite having Carson Palmer. Jacksonville and New Orleans are also being mentioned, though they have very capable starting quarterbacks. Would Vick be opposed to moving to wide receiver and just playing quarterback during “Wildcat” formations?

At 29, it may be too late for Vick to learn how to play wide receiver. He is a quarterback, now matter how inaccurate he can be. He’s a flat-out playmaker on the field. Let’s just hope that he’s safe off the field so he can get back on and do what he does best-play football.

The police in Nashville ruled that former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by his 20-year old girlfriend, who then turned the gun on herself.

Nobody will ever know what went through the head of Sahel Kazemi before she decided to end the life of McNair, a man who helped her buy a condo and car. A man she met six months ago at a restaurant where she was a waitress and his family often ate.

She reportedly told a friend on Friday, the day before the murder, that she wanted to end her life. Financial problems shouldn’t cause a person to end not only their life, but their loved ones. Now investigators have discovered that Kazemi thought that McNair was romantically involved with another woman and followed her home.

Could this be more than a crime of passion? Does this make any sense that a man who had four children, was not only cheating on his wife, but his girlfriend?

The life of Steve McNair was full of stories of his courage on the football field and of his kindness off of it. Many athletes have charities that are just tax shelters. It’s great to put your name to a charity to enhance your image. Some take it very seriously and put their money where their mouths are. Apparently McNair did a lot of charitable work.

He put up a career that’s worthy of consideration to the Hall of Fame. He threw for over 30,000 yards and ran for over 3,000. There’s just two other quarterbacks in history (Steve Young and Fran Tarkenton) who accomplished those feats. If you judge a quarterback by his passer rating, then McNair may fall short of the Hall of Fame. If you judge one by heart, leadership and his ability to win in a conservative offense without many weapons, he’s a Hall of Famer.

Now he won’t be able to repair his image. Most of the fans in Tennessee and to a lesser extent Baltimore, will remember his play on the field. They will focus on what happened on the field and not what took place at the end of his life.

The case is over and hopefully so is the dirt regarding McNair’s personal life.

The month of July has started and we’re now a little over a month before the kickoff of the NFL Preseason. If you don’t bet baseball, the horses, golf, NASCAR, tennis, soccer or any other summer sport, then it’s time to relax. Take a few months off and catch some rays before next football season.

Or you could pick up a magazine and start reading about the latest acquisitions by the Chicago Bears (Jay Cutler?) or the chances of UL Lafayette winning the Sun Belt. There’s nothing wrong with relaxing and getting away from sports and gambling, but procrastination leads to bankrupt-nation (I made that word up).

If you have the time, go to your local newsstand or bookstore and grab a copy of the latest pro and college football annual. There are a lot quality magazines out there including Lindy’s, Athlon’s, Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly (now run by Yahoo) and much more. The one problem with these magazines is that they write most of their stuff after the NFL Draft in late April and miss whatever happens in May and June.

Of course, there’s not a lot that occurs in those months in pro football. Other than Brett Favre pushing to come back in the NFL, there haven’t been serious off-the-field issues or injuries during OTA’s. In college football, there’s usually players that get suspended after spring due to academics or off-the-field issues. That’s why you have the internet and sites like ESPN.com or CNNSI to follow the latest transactions.

There’s also other good college sites out there like CollegeFootballNews.com, NationalChamps.net, CollegeSports-fans.com and Rivals.com, just to name a few.

So while you are taking it easy this summer, don’t forget to do some research and keep up with the latest changes in the college and pro football ranks so you’ll be prepared once the season starts.

The NBA Draft is Thursday in New York City and here are my first-round projections based on information about workouts, team conjecture and possible deals. Ricky Rubio seems to be the biggest mystery of the draft due to his obligations to his pro team in Spain (buyout as much as $7 million) and some suspicions about his ability. Is he quick enough to defend point guards in the NBA? Does he have a good enough jumper to keep defenses honest? I think Rubio could get drafted as high as second, but most likely, you’ll see a team like Minnesota jump up to take him in a deal. Washington at number five, has also received as many as 10 offers and should make a deal to get an established veteran. If Rubio slips to five, all bets are off as they may keep him.

1) LA Clippers Blake Griffin Oklahoma
2) Memphis Ricky Rubio* Spain
3) Oklahoma City Hasheem Thabeet UConn
4) Sacramento Tyreke Evans Memphis
5) Washington Stephen Curry* Davidson
6) Minnesota James Harden Arizona
7) Golden State Jonny Flynn Syracuse
8) New York Jrue Holiday UCLA
9) T oronto DeMar DeRozan USC
10) Milwaukee Jordan Hill Arizona
11) New Jersey Gerald Henderson Duke
12) Charlotte Terrence Williams Louisville
13) Indiana Eric Maynor VCU
14) Phoenix Brandon Jennings Italy
15) Detroit B.J. Mullens Ohio State
16) Chicago Earl Clark Louisville
17) Philadelphia Ty Lawson North Carolina
18) Minnesota James Johnson* Wake Forest
19) Atlanta Jeff Teague Wale Forest
20) Utah Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina
21) New Orleans Austin Daye Gonzaga
22) Dallas DeJuan Blair Pittsburgh
23) Sacramento Omri Casspi Israel
24) Portland DaJuan Summers Georgetown
25) Oklahoma City Darren Collison UCLA
26) Chicago Sam Young Pittsburgh
27) Memphis Chase Buddinger Arizona
28) Minnesota Toney Douglas Florida State
29) LA Lakers Wayne Ellington North Carolina
30) Cleveland Jonas Jerebko Sweden

*-possible trade

Now that basketball and hockey are over and with football less than two months away, there’s really not much to bet on unless you’re a soccer, tennis, motor racing or golf fan.

But there are other options. Of course, you can relax and take off until football season. Let your bankroll rest, go on vacation and save up until football season.

If you have some extra money to spend, there’s always baseball which is now at Interleague play. Some bettors like playing Interleague play, because they feel they can get good lines. The American League usually dominates this time of the year, even when they move to National League parks and can’t use the DH.

I know a lot of people were looking forward to watching the U.S. Open this weekend. With very little to watch other than baseball, this was a perfect sport to watch over two days. However,

Mother Nature didn't cooperate as the U.S. Open was pushed towards Monday due to rain. And who would have placed bets on Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes to be on top of the leaderboards as we head towards the final round. Betting on golf is a difficult task because you have Tiger Woods and the rest of the field. I’m sure many people bet on Phil Mickelson as the sentimental favorite, but after that, there were few other options.

If you don’t want to bet on baseball and other sports like NASCAR, soccer, Wimbledon or golf, there’s always the CFL and the WNBA. The Canadian Football League begins on July 1^st and goes through November 8^th. It’s a nice filler before the NFL starts and there are just eight teams in the league so there’s not a whole lot of research to do-if you have the time.

The NBA and college basketball’s seasons have come to an end, but hoops goes on. The WNBA has begun and it’s another way of betting on basketball almost until the NBA season starts again in late October. The league has managed to stay afloat for 13 years and it can be an easy sport to win if you have the information. Unlike other leagues, not only do you have to deal with injuries, but also players who are pregnant. For example, last year’s Rookie of the Year and MVP Candace Parker has missed the first month for the LA Sparks and will return sometime in July. The Sparks are off to a slow start, but when she returns-look out, even if she’s not 100%.

So let me get this straight. This was about retribution. The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t just win their 15^th NBA title in franchise history. They proved the critics, who said, “Kobe can’t win a title without Shaq” wrong.

Did anybody really say Kobe Bryant couldn’t win a title without Shaquille O’Neal? When Pau Gasol was acquired in February of 2008 for a combination of Kwame Brown, some throw-ins, the draft rights to his brother Marc Gasol and two first-round picks, the Lakers instantly became the favorite or one of the favorites to win the NBA title.

Gasol gave the Lakers a legitimate All-Star-caliber player. The Robin to his Batman. A Scottie Pippen to complement Michael Jordan. A superstar can’t win championships alone and to Bryant’s credit, he became the team leader not because he was scoring 30.2ppg in the postseason (26.8ppg in the regular season), but because he was sharing the ball (5.5 apg) and doing what it takes to get the job done.

Gasol didn’t have to carry the team like he did in Memphis. He just had to be a defensive intimidator inside, rebound and become the second scoring option. And that’s exactly what Gasol did in the postseason. In fact, while his average dipped from 18.3ppg (still shot 58%) in the postseason from 18.9ppg, his blocked shots went up nearly a block per game (1.96bpg) from 1bpg and his rebounds went up 1.2 per game (10.8rpg from 9.6) in the playoffs. This is not the sign of a “soft” player, though he is certainly more finesse than Dwight Howard. He was the kryptonite to Howard’s “Superman”. Howard scored just 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 5 and shot just 5-of-12 in Game 4, scoring 16 points in 49 minutes.

Does Howard have any post moves? Not really, but he still managed to score nearly 21 points per game in the regular season and a little over 20 in the playoffs. Against Cleveland, he scored 40 points in the finale and averaged 26 points per game in that series. The Lakers held him to 15.4 points per game in five games. That was the major key to this season. He didn’t really need post moves against Cleveland because he just outmaneuvered Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao because of his quickness. For the most part, Howard stayed on the low block and tried to overpower Gasol or Andrew Bynum and when the double-team wasn’t there, he couldn’t finish against their length. They weren’t giving up easy dunks or layups.

Bryant was spectacular at times during this series, but the NBA is not an individual sport. No matter how many puppets, interviews, or commercials the NBA promotes and wants you to believe that it’s all about one person, the Lakers don’t win if Gasol doesn’t play some of his best defense ever in this series. They don’t win (at least in five games), if Derek Fisher doesn’t hit two big shots in Game 4. They don’t win if Trevor Ariza doesn’t go from a 32% three-point shooter in the regular season to a 48% three-point shooter in the postseason. They don’t win if Lamar Odom doesn’t step up and show why he can be one of the better all-around players in the league when he sets his mind to it.

And there’s also a guy named Phil Jackson who can coach his ass off. Maybe he’s fortunate to have coached Jordan, Shaq and Kobe, but he also coached Pippen and the Bulls to 55 wins without Jordan in the 1993-94 season. That team also had an injury-prone Toni Kukoc and a starting guard named Pete Myers, who made Courtney Lee look like Reggie Miller.

Jackson can flat-out coach and yes, the Orlando Magic didn’t give them the fight I thought or was hoping for. Maybe the Boston Celtics with a healthy Kevin Garnett could have repeated or if LeBron James had any help in Cleveland, the Cavs would have at least made this more interesting.

As an NBA fan, I’ve bet the wrong side many times (though not in Game 5). I’ve enjoyed watching the NBA Playoffs and when Garnett was out and the way Cleveland struggled with Orlando, I couldn’t stand to see the Lakers win another title. But this equation usually works in the playoffs. Good coaching + superstar + supporting cast + defense + experience =CHAMPIONSHIP.

The Orlando Magic find themselves down 2-0 in the NBA Finals after a heartbreaking 101-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Sunday night.

After missing out on several opportunities late in the game to take control and even the series at 1-1, the Magic now find themselves in the unenviable task of trying to be just the fourth team to come back from a 2-0 deficit to win the NBA Finals. The last team to do so was the Miami Heat in 2006.

Courtney Lee had the two biggest opportunities to put his team over the top. Now you might be saying, why are the Magic going to a 23-year old rookie who played just 12 minutes in an overtime game? Orlando had other options, but at shooting guard, a position that the Lakers left open most of the night, the Magic came up empty. Lee took just three shots and scored only two points in 12 minutes; J.J. Redick, who used to be a sure-shot marksman in college, went 2-for-9 from the field and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc and scored just five points in 27 minutes; Mickael Pietrus scored just two points in 23 minutes after fouling out.

Pietrus is the team’s best player off the bench (12ppg) and their top defender against Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately for the Magic, he tried to defend Bryant too close and may have actually touched him a few times, so he fouled out of the game.

The Magic may see some home cooking in Orlando (you know the NBA wants to see this series come back to L.A) but it won’t matter if the Magic continue to turn the ball over like they did in Game 2 (20 turnovers).

You can talk about Lee missing an ally-oop with 0.6 seconds left in regulation, but that attempt was difficult because he was off-balanced. The easier attempt with 10 seconds left when he missed a makeable short shot with a little contact (of course no call).

But he should be a fifth option at best. The Magic needed him in there for his defense with Pietrus out and considering Redick can’t defend and wasn’t makings shots. The real issue is Dwight Howard and his lack of production. He can complain about not getting enough touches all he wants, but what happens when he gets the ball? He has 29 points in two games, nine turnovers and is shooting 6-for-16 from the field. Give the Lakers credit for defending him with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol and the help they’ve been giving as well with Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton or Lamar Odom coming into to double team. Howard has shown his lack of post moves, especially to his left side. Is he Superman? Hell no. He could use a summer of going to a big man camp to learn a few moves.

The Lakers have to be given credit because Kobe is being Kobe, Phil Jackson is one of the best in the business as a clutch coach and Pau Gasol has shown that he’s a legitimate second option. But the key has been the play of Lamar Odom. He was good in Game 1 with 11 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. In the second game, he was sensational scoring 19 points, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking three shots and making eight of nine shots in 46 minutes. His block on a Redick layup attempt showed how good he can be when he hustles (and eats enough candy).

The Magic are certainly not out of this despite the odds. But with their lack of experience and the way the Lakers are defending Howard, not to mention the pathetic shooting guard and point guard play for the Magic with Rafer Alston (3-for-17 in this series), it’s going to be an uphill battle.

The Los Angeles Lakers opened as a -245 favorite and now they are -255 favorite to win the NBA Finals.
Why are people betting the Lakers, when the Magic defeated them twice during the regular season?

The Lakers were the second-best team in the NBA during the regular season, winning 65 games and they are a public team. Bettors love to play with them or against them. But Orlando plays in a relatively-small market and they haven’t been to a Finals since 1995. But are they an underdog in this series?

Sure, they are getting six points in the opener and maybe that’s deserved-or is it? The Lakers struggled to defeat Denver in six games and Houston in seven. They even struggled against Utah in their opener, and there’s no doubt that the Eastern Conference is weaker than the West. But is it that much worse? Didn’t the Boston Celtics win the NBA Title last season and were from the Eastern Conference?

The Magic defeated the Lakers during the regular season at home, (106-103) and on the road (109-103). In both games, Jameer Nelson was the biggest factor, as he scored 27 and 28 points respectively. Nelson has missed more than half the season due to a shoulder injury and hasn’t played in the playoffs-until now.

Nelson returns for the NBA Finals and while he may not be 100% conditioning-wise and or shoulder-wise, he’s a tough matchup for the Lakers. He’s 5-11 and very quick, which Lakers’ starting guard Derek Fisher is not. Stan Van Gundy can now keep Phil Jackson guessing about Nelson’s status. Will he start him over Rafer Alston? Will he bring him off the bench? How many minutes will he play?

Even without Nelson, this would be an intriguing series and a tough one for the Lakers. With Dwight Howard playing the best basketball of his career, he gives the Lakers a tough dilemma. Andrew Bynum has only averaged around 17 mpg during the playoffs, but he’s the only big man who’s capable at least of slowing down “Superman”. Pau Gasol will get in serious foul trouble if he tries to defend Howard, since he’s more of a finesse player.

The backcourt matchup certainly favors the Lakers, as Orlando does not have a player that can matchup with Kobe Bryant. But add Nelson to the equation, and if Mickael Pietrus can continue to play well off the bench, they can negate this huge disadvantage.

The public can go with the Lakers. I’ll take the Magic in six.

What has happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Is there some kind of jinx? Are they the mistake by the Lake?

Or maybe basketball is all about matchups and the Cavs don’t match up well against the Orlando Magic. How else can you explain a team that destroyed Detroit and Atlanta in the opening rounds being down 3-1 to a team that barely got by a Boston team without their best player in Kevin Garnett?

On April 3, Orlando crushed Cleveland at home by nearly 40 points as the Magic shot 54% from the field, holding to the Cavs to just 37% shooting. On January 29^th in Orlando, the Magic defeated the Cavs, 99-88. The Magic were led by Dwight Howard’s 22 points and 18 boards.

Even in Cleveland’s only win during the regular season, a 97-93 win at home, it took a 43-point effort by LeBron James to do the trick.

Nobody can blame James the way this series he has gone. He has played about as well as any mere mortal aside from Michael Jordan, averaging 36ppg in the playoffs and has averaged 42ppg in four games against the Magic. Even after an eight-turnover performance in Game Four and despite missing a miraculous shot that would have won the game, James has put on one of the best playoff performances in the last decade.

However, he needs help. During the regular season, Mo Williams was that outstanding second option. James is averaging nearly 10ppg regular season and playing three more minutes per game, but is also averaging nearly one assist per game less in the postseason. Part of the problem is Williams, who averaged nearly 18ppg and shot 47% from the field during the regular season, is struggling in the postseason. He’s averaging 2.5 ppg less at 15.6ppg, while shooting just 39% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc.

Even a big man like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, all 7-3, 270-pounds of him, has been pretty much a non-factor in this series and in the playoffs. He’s just not athletic enough to cover Howard and for the most part, is not a great post player, tending to fade away from the basket. He’s averaging 10.8ppg after averaging 12.9ppg during the regular season.

It’s certainly not just three players as the Cleveland bench has been very unproductive as well. Part of that may be on head coach Mike Brown’s reluctance to use his bench. Wally Szczerbiak averaged 7ppg in 20.6mpg during the regular season and now averages just 12.7mpg and 3.8ppg in the process. His bench may have issues in terms of age and lack of athleticism, but they don’t lack experience. Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and Wally Z. have certainly been around the block.

Brown was named Coach of the Year in the NBA and it’s time he shows it. He needs to make adjustments starting now, because a win on Thursday night, only means they survive.