Going into Week 9 in the NFL its clear that the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts are the two best teams in the NFL. Both teams from New York, the Giants and the Jets, were overrated by NFL fans after three weeks. Also, the Dallas Cowboy and Philadelphia Eagles are the class of the NFC East.

The other two teams, Eagles and Cowboys are tied at the top of the NFC East and face each other this Sunday, a game that could determine which team heads into the playoffs with a top four seed and which team will be fighting for the wildcard.

The Eagles have been incredible since being upset by the Raiders in Week 6, 13 to 9 as 14 point NFL betting favorites. They’ve covered two spreads in a row including absolutely dominating the Giants 40 to 17 just last Sunday as 1 point home faves.

Football betting is less of a gamble than other types of sports betting. It’s easier to call because the bettor has an opportunity to gauge the quality of each and every team. That being said, there are some football betting tips that can help you get the most out of the week’s games. While no betting system is foolproof, these football betting tips will help you come out ahead.

First, don’t get greedy. Gamblers all want to win big, but don’t go overboard. So long as you get a series of wins, you should come out ahead. It’s recommended that you put smaller bets on a wider variety of games, rather than put one huge bet on a single game-unless you think the game is a lock. Unfortunately, the spread set by odds makers for any game is rarely a lock. Keep up to date on all the latest football odds.

There is one major misconception about football betting odds-that they closely predict the outcome of the game. Football betting odds are actually designed to bring in the largest number of bets. So one person will see the spread on a game and what to go with the favorite and another will bet the spread of the loss. While football betting odds will give a sense of which team is more likely to win the game, the line won’t necessarily predict the final score.

NBA betting odds have the LA Lakers -12 at home in NBA odds for Game 5 against the Rockets with a betting total of 198. Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 34 points in Game 4 while Shane Battier added 23 points to help the Rockets demolish the spread as 7.5 point NBA betting underdogs.

“I think everyone but us got the memo that we weren’t supposed to show up today without Yao,” Battier said.

The Rockets led by as many as 29 points and the Lakers looked nothing like a potential NBA champ. Pau Gasol scored 30 points and Kobe Bryant had 15 for a Lakers team that looked disinterested. Head coach Phil Jackson had warned his players but they didn’t listen.

“They didn’t anticipate the energy that they were going to come with,” Jackson said. “But you say as much as you can as a coach and then the players have to execute and do it on the floor.”

The Lakers could be facing more difficulty on Tuesday as forward Lamar Odom was injured in Game 4 and did not return. He missed practice on Monday but still may play on Tuesday. If you are looking to see who will win Game 5 you might only need to watch the first quarter. The team that has led at the end of the first quarter has won all 10 of Houston’s playoff games.

NCAA Men’s Basketball picks are a popular form of sports betting online. If you know the odds and study the game and lines, you can come out ahead.

During March Madness, its about trying to guess the final team out of 64. Even though that seems like an impossible challenge, it’s very possible. NCAA Men’s basketball predictions that people usually pick for march madness is to NOT go with the number one team overall. It is very rare that the number 1 team overall takes it in March Madness. It is the most exciting thing to watch and there are usually so many upsets.

Odds of predicting all 64 teams correctly are 1 in over 5 million. This means you are guaranteed to get some picks wrong, you just don’t want to get them wrong in the later rounds.

The NCAA tournament is actually pretty random. Who could have guessed last year that George Mason University - a No. 11 seed - would make the Final Four? Well, 1,853 out of more than 1.5 million people who entered ESPN.com’s Tournament Challenge. This is why college basketball favorites are not your best picks during March Madness.

Here’s some good betting advice for betting on March Madness: don’t pick the higher seeds to win all the games. Even most casual college basketball fans know better than to pick all the No. 1 seeds to make it to the Final Four. Even picking 3 number 1 team’s can be a major risk. The last time 3 number one teams made it to the final four was 2001. Try to go with two No. one seeds and then some combination of twos, threes and fours for the last two spots. With some studying of the brackets and knowing the history of the brackets will put you on the right track. No one will correctly guess all 64 teams, if you do there are many sites that will offer you over a million dollars if you do, that’s how unlikely it is.

Bet among friends at first. If you have a friend who attended Rutgers and their team is playing the Notre Dame, then figure out some way to bet against them. Most die-hard alumnus will give you even money on their team to beat even a strongly favored opponent. Even if you should somehow lose, in the long run this friend will be paying you off for years. If you’re emotionally invested in a game, it’s best not to bet on it. Emotions and gambling don’t mix well.

If you have to bet in a casino, then at least make the casinos work against each other. In Vegas, take a walk from one casino to another to compare odds. Most of the time it’s the less upscale local casinos that will reward you with that extra half point in your favor. This is a key component of sports betting. Finding favorable odds is maybe the most important aspect of making a smart sports bet. Finding a difference of half a point in your favor is huge. In a game where both teams’ defenses are stellar, you’ll expect it to be a low-scoring affair. If one team is favored by 3 points to win and all of a sudden the line changes to -3.5, then the favorite team has to win by more than a field goal. That’s another scoring opportunity in what you expect to be a very tight game of clock management and field position. Now, your original intent to bet on the favorite shifts to perhaps betting on the underdog. Most sports books don’t allow cell phones. One of the reasons is they don’t want bettors comparing odds with their friends at another sports book.

Parlays and teasers are almost always sucker bets. Unless you’ve done plenty of research, avoid these bets.

Participate in a fantasy league. This is a great way to keep on top of players and teams that otherwise would be of little interest to you. Knowing that a particular player performs better indoors than outdoors throughout the regular season could pay off big in a domed Super Bowl.

1. Louisville Cardinals, 12-8 against the spread: Louisville covered seven straight games, including tough ones against Pittsburgh and Syracuse, before failing to cover against the West Virginia Mountaineers in their last.

2. Xavier Musketeers, 12-7 against the spread: They are five games above .500 against the betting spread and have reeled off eight straight victories. This is the best team in the Atlantic-10 and they should keep winning against the spread.

3. Duke Blue Devils, 11-8-1 against the spread: Their record against the spread is still a winning one, but they have to start beating teams like Wake Forest straight-up on the road.

4. Oklahoma Sooners, 10-6-1 against the spread: The class of the Big-12 continues to impress with victories straight-up and against the spread versus Baylor and Oklahoma State.

5. Butler Bulldogs, 12-5-1 against the spread: They have one of the best against the spread records in college basketball and I could rank them much higher in this but they play a soft schedule and I have the feeling that the NCAA odds makers are onto these guys.

6. Washington Huskies, 12-7 against the spread: The Huskies are easily the best team against the spread in the Pac-10, but their on the road against the California Golden Bears in their next game.

7. Stanford Cardinal, 13-5 against the spread: What a great against the spread record! 13 and 5 after their embarrassing loss to the UCLA Bruins. They will have to bounce back and might not with tough games coming up against Washington, Washington State and California.

8. San Diego State Aztecs, 10-5-1 against the spread: They’re 15 and 5 straight-up and have gone 7 and 2 against the spread in their last 9 games.

The early betting puts Pittsburgh as the 70% favorites with Arizona at 30% underdogs. Those Super Bowl odds reflect the AFC representative’s consistency throughout the season - the Steelers have only lost four regular season games, all to teams who made the playoffs. Both teams have been matched at three figures in many - Pittsburgh at 99-1 and Arizona at 129-1 - as the season was underway. So as it stands, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the -7(-105) SuperBowl predictions favorite with the game total set to 46½( ov-110) .

Pitching is paramount to Major League Baseball betting success, and any baseball handicappers will tell you to focus primarily on a game’s pitchers, but streaks should also be taken seriously into account before getting in on the action around the baseball diamond. If you bet on Major League Baseball, examining winning and losing streaks can give you tremendous insight, not to mention be fun and profitable. Knowing who is riding the money train is equally important as to when you should get on board. This information will be a major bonus when you are deciding on an online sportsbook.

Major League Baseball features more streaks with longevity, win and loss, than pretty much any other pro sport. An example of this can be found when examining the situation in 1988 when the Baltimore Orioles won 21 straight games, which, in the history of professional baseball is on top. The team with the terrible dishonor of owning the longest losing streak belongs to the Phillies, who lost 23 consecutive games in ‘61. Winning and losing streaks are obvious and direct trends that impact sportsbook bankrolls, however individual streaks can also play a major role in a game outcome. The game itself is made up of many varieties of individual streaks that can have a major impact on your sportsbook bankroll.

After last years New York Giants upset over the New England Patriots, here is a look at the 16 favored teams for 2009. Odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl are listed in parenthesis

New England Patriots (5:2)

The Patriots have the talent to win the whole thing next year, but how will their mental state be after losing the perfect season?

Dallas Cowboys (7:1)

Can Romo deliver a Super Bowl title next year. If he doesn’t, it could be the last season for Coach Wade Phillips.

Indianapolis Colts (8:1)

There is no better football family than the Manning’s, and Eli’s brother Peyton hopes that 2009 is his year to step back into the spotlight. The return of Coach Tony Dungy might help.

San Diego Chargers (8:1)

Philip Rivers showed a lot of guts in their playoff loss to New England and he hopes to be healthy by training camp. This is a very hungry team and the Chargers look to be undervalued at these odds.

New York Giants (12:1)

The defending Super Bowl champions would need another perfect storm to deliver another title. That said, we have learned never to count this team out.

Jacksonville Jaguars (15:1)

This fearless Jaguars’ team has everything going for it with the exception of being stuck in the same division as Indianapolis. If they can somehow win the AFC South, then look out in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers (20:1)

Head Coach Mike Tomlin acquitted himself nicely in his first season, although you never want to lose a playoff game at home. Look for a good year from this perennial AFC contender.

Chicago Bears (30:1)

The big question on this team continues to be at quarterback as free agent to be, Rex Grossman may not be the long term solution.

Denver Broncos (30:1)

Mike Shanahan is considered the Broncos ‘coach for life’ but he must help improve a defense that ranked 19th in the NFL last year. A quicker maturation of quarterback Jay Cutler would help too.

Seattle Seahawks (30:1)

Coach Mike Holmgren is returning to the team after contemplating opening a bookstore and selling muffins. With an attitude like that, expect this to be Holmgren’s last season.

Philadelphia Eagles (30:1)

Quarterback Donovan McNabb should be back with the team, but there are still some trade rumors out there. If McNabb returns, this is a potential sleeper team on this list.

Minnesota Vikings (30:1)

Minnesota started last season at 3-6, won their next five games, and then lost their last two to finish out of the playoffs. Look for Tarvaris Jackson to remain the starter at quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals (40:1)

Wide receiver Chad Johnson wants to be traded and the defense is still one of the worst in the NFL. That makes these odds overly optimistic even with an offense that will always put up its share of points.

Cleveland Browns (40:1)

The other Ohio team just missed making the playoffs this year, and they should be a team to be reckoned with next season. Signing coach Romeo Crennel to an extension was a solid decision.

Arizona Cardinals (40:1)

The Cardinals had an up and down year under first year coach, Ken Whisenhunt. To make the playoffs, the team needs Matt Leinart to stay quarterback all year long.