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nfl free picks- (associated press) bills center out in week 2 exhibition game.

Buffalo Bills starting center Melvin Fowler is expected to miss Buffalo's preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday because of a sore left ankle.

Oddsmakers have the Bills as 3-point favorites with the total set at 34.

Fowler missed his second straight practice Thursday and coach Dick Jauron said the team will be cautious on whether to allow him to play. If Fowler can't

play, the Bills will go with reserve lineman Duke Preston in their preseason home opener.

Reserve defensive tackle John McCargo (left ankle) is expected to play after he returned to practice. Starting outside linebacker Angelo Crowell (left knee)

has been limited in practice the past two days and it's uncertain whether he'll play.

Jauron said reserve offensive linemen Brad Butler (hamstring) and Aaron Merz (shoulder) are out. Rookie free-agent safety Trevor Hooper is also out because

he's not yet been cleared to practice after he was hurt in a 13-10 win at New Orleans last week.

The New York Jets signed first-round pick Darrelle Revis on Wednesday, ending the touted cornerback's lengthy holdout.

Revis, selected 14th overall after New York traded up to draft him, missed 22 practices - including Wednesday's single practice - and the team's preseason

opener last Friday against Atlanta since training camp started July 27.

''We're glad it's over,'' general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Wednesday night.

The Jets expect Revis to compete for a starting job at cornerback, once he gets up to speed with the defense. Revis was considered one of the best overall

cornerbacks in the draft, and had an outstanding college career at Pittsburgh, finishing with 129 tackles and eight interceptions.

Tannenbaum said Revis had already received his playbook from coach Eric Mangini and would participate in the team's walkthrough Friday. It was uncertain if

He was the Jets' first unsigned pick at the start of training camp since linebacker James Farrior in 1997, and Revis' holdout of 20 practice days was the

Tannenbaum said the team and Revis' agent, Neil Schwartz, agreed in principle to a deal late Tuesday night. The only reason Revis didn't practice Wednesday

Tannenbaum wouldn't address the length of the deal, ''other than to say it was 47 pages,'' he said.

The holdup in the negotiations reportedly stemmed from the length of the contract. The Jets were looking to sign Revis to a six-year deal, while the

With Revis' signing, the only first-round holdout is top overall pick JaMarcus Russell, the LSU quarterback selected by Oakland.

Revis will help fill one of the Jets' biggest needs. Veteran Andre Dyson started every game at left cornerback until he was injured in Week 15, but the right

side of the secondary was a different story. Justin Miller, David Barrett, Hank Poteat and rookie Drew Coleman all took turns in the starting lineup.

Miller, who was having a good camp in Revis' absence, has been sidelined since injuring a hamstring in the team's scrimmage at Fordham University on Aug. 5.

He struggled with coverage in his first two NFL seasons, despite making the Pro Bowl last season as a kick returner.

Barrett, Poteat and Coleman are all back, but none is viewed as a long-term solution. Revis could be. He played left cornerback before moving to the right

The 5-foot-11, 204-pound Revis is a versatile player, something Tannenbaum and Mangini covet, and could also serve as the Jets' punt returner.

football picks- (associated press) no deal yet for vick in dog fighting case.

Michael Vick and his attorneys were still negotiating with federal prosecutors Thursday, hoping to strike a deal on a plea agreement, according to a lawyer

The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because of the ongoing discussions.

The Atlanta Falcons star quarterback pleaded not guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges last month. But since then, one of his co-defendants has changed

his plea to guilty and agreed to testify against Vick, and two others are scheduled to do likewise Friday.

Prosecutors, meantime, have said they will seek a superseding indictment this month. Legal experts say the growing parade of prosecution witnesses and the

prospect of additional charges increases the pressure on Vick to negotiate a deal.

Collins R. Spencer III, spokesman for Vick's five-member defense team, declined to comment. Vick is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 26.

It's highly unlikely prosecutors would offer Vick a specific reduced sentence in exchange for a guilty plea, according to Steven Benjamin, a prominent

Richmond defense attorney. He said federal rules permit such agreements, subject to the judge's approval, but they simply are not used in the Richmond

''If we were to see that in this case, it would be extraordinary,'' he said.

Instead, prosecutors sometimes offer concessions that would result in a lower range under federal sentencing guidelines, Benjamin said. For example,

prosecutors could pledge not to take the position that Vick was a leader of the dogfighting ring.

''If the judge accepted that finding, it would have the effect of reducing his sentencing guideline range,'' Benjamin said.

A number of other factors are considered in determining that range, including the defendant's sincerity in accepting responsibility and the extent of his

cooperation with the government in ongoing investigations, Benjamin said.

Rough calculations based on what is known in Vick's case indicate that a guideline range of eight to 12 months ''would not be unrealistic,'' said Benjamin's

law partner, Betty Layne Desportes. The charges - conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiring to sponsor a dog

in an animal fighting venture - carry a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine.

Tony Taylor of Hampton pleaded guilty to those charges last month and will be sentenced Dec. 14. Co-defendants Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, and

Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, will enter plea agreements Friday morning.

According to the statement signed by Taylor as part of his plea agreement, Vick financed virtually all of the ''Bad Newz Kennels'' dogfighting enterprise on

Taylor's statement and the July 17 indictment also linked Vick to betting on the dogfights, which could result in a lifetime ban from the NFL under the

league's policy against gambling. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has barred Vick from the Falcons' training camp but has withheld further action until the

The case began with the April search of the Surry County property. Investigators found dozens of pit bulls, some of them injured, as well as equipment

nfl picks- (associated press) raiders coach returns after being hospitalized.

Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin returned to practice Wednesday after missing the previous two days while being hospitalized for a viral infection.

Kiffin, 32, entered the Queen of the Valley Medical Center and stayed there two nights undergoing tests and observation. He missed three practice sessions

Kiffin, hired Jan. 23 to replace the fired Art Shell, is the youngest head coach in the NFL.

Offensive coordinators Greg Knapp and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan ran practice in Kiffin's absence.

Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Chike Okeafor will probably miss the season after undergoing surgery Tuesday to reattach a torn biceps tendon.

Okeafor was holding out hope for a return this season, coach Ken Whisenhunt said, but the normal recovery period for that type of surgery is four months.

Darryl Blackstock and Calvin Pace are competing to replace Okeafor in the starting lineup.

Right tackle Oliver Ross, meanwhile, was getting a second opinion about his torn triceps tendon. That injury also could require season-ending surgery. First

Okeafor and Ross were injured in last weekend's preseason opener at Oakland.

Whisenhunt said center Nick Leckey will miss Saturday's preseason game against Houston because of a sprained knee.

The Cardinals signed two free agents - guard Brad Badger and center Scott Peters - to bolster their dwindling depth on the offensive line. Badger has played

10 NFL seasons. He appeared in nine games last year for Oakland. Peters, who played at Arizona State, spent last season on injured reserve with Carolina

Arizona also released fullback BranDon Snow, a rookie free agent out of Penn State.

Quick, take a look at the lines for this week’s NFL preseason schedule.

If you said, "home teams as small favorites," you're a winner. But if you look even closer you'll see a repeating number: the home team listed as 3-point

favorite. The home side has been 2- to 4-point favorites in 11 of the first 17 games this exhibition calendar.

“In general, home-field advantage is worth about 3 points in the preseason and regular season,” Covers Expert Steve Merril confirms.

OK, with that mind, oddsmakers must think the competition is close to dead even among the league’s 32 teams, right? Wrong.

Linesmakers say the passive nature of preseason lowers the separation between a good team and a bad team. Since starters see only limited playing time and

coaches are indifferent to the final score at this time of year, books have to be cautious.

“When it gets to the end of the game, I don’t know if it’s a pressing matter to try to score, let only win," says John Avello, director of race and sports

He says it boils down to the quality of players on the field at the end of the game. "I know they can’t execute,” Avello says.

This brings us back to the magic number: three. Because of all the uncertainty surrounding preseason, bettors are given generic lines and lower wager limits

“We normally start at a pick and go as high as 4,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club consulting service in Las Vegas. “You will see more 3s because the

Last preseason, home teams were favored by three or less in 28 of 65 games. Away teams went 12-14-2 against the spread and 11-17 straight up.

Korner says there are some things oddsmakers and sharp bettors follow closely such as playing time for starters and coaches on the hot seat. Still you won’t

see any double-digit pointspreads in August. No team has been given more than 6 points this year, and 7 was the most last year.

Three's the magic numberThis week's 3-point faves
Miami at Kansas City -3, 34
Atlanta at Buffalo -3, 34
Carolina at Philadelphia -3, 35
Houston at Arizona -3, 35 ½
Detroit at Cleveland -3, 35 ½
“The problem we come across is we’ve got to have the lines out early every week and if a bettor gets information later in the week he can take advantage of

the early line,” line consultant Keith Glantz explains. “That’s why you’ll see books move lines without hesitation because of one large bet.”

Monday’s game between the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers serves as evidence. Books had the game bouncing back and forth over a key number.

“I started at 2 ½, then moved to 3, then back to 2 ½,” Avello says. “I would normally never do something like that, but I have no problem doing it in the

So if 3 points is the starting number, is that solely because of the home-field advantage?

“I know home field doesn’t mean as much right now,” Avello says. “It means something but only because you’re familiar with the locker room, field, etcetera.

Merril says there are specific edges that home teams have in the preseason that they wouldn’t have in the regular season.

“Scheduling can play more of a role in the preseason as teams play on different days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) and often have to travel on just four or

five days rest, which is something that rarely happens during the regular season.”

This is a valid point. The Miami Dolphins played the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday and will travel to Missouri to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.

“I think there is some value in fading the 3-point policy,” Covers Expert Scott Rickenbach says. “Quite frankly, an oddsmaker may look at a game and say it’s

a toss up so he just assigns the home team with a line of –3. I feel this can offer some situations of solid value.

“Maybe the way a team approaches the preseason makes them a play on or play against so that we can take advantage of the pre-set pointspreads.”

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May 30, 2007 - SPORTS NEWS - NFL NEWS