Last year, the Indianapolis Colts went 1-3 straight up (2-2 against the spread) in the preseason. The Oakland Raiders went 4-1 SU and ATS.

So why do they play these games again? Revenue seems to be the main concern. Fans love NFL football so much, nearly 37,000 of them showed up at Lambeau Field in 1987 to watch the replacement Packers lose to the replacement Lions.

That rabid following has been enough to quell any attempts to reduce the exhibition season from four games (plus the Hall of Fame game, plus the occasional International Bowl) to two.

Handicappers, though, don’t mind the extra opportunities to bet. And even if the final score of these exhibition games has little to say about what will happen during the regular season, it’s still a chance to keep an eye on player development. Which is what the preseason is really supposed to be about.

Baseball handicappers are blissed out this week. Football is taking over the betting landscape, softening lines for those still paying attention to what’s happening on the diamond.

And what’s happening has become a lot more interesting of late. The Seattle Mariners are falling back to earth, losing five in a row at press time. They’ll have their hands full in Toronto; promising Dustin McGowan (3.59 ERA since the break) is scheduled to pitch Saturday, followed by A.J. Burnett (1.63 ERA in four starts since coming off the DL) on Sunday.

In the NL, watch for Tim Lincecum and the surprisingly hot San Francisco Giants on Saturday against Washington. The Lincecum Express has slowed down of late; the rookie has a sore arm and is showing signs of fatigue after a torrid summer. The Senators will be happy to return home after a lousy West Coast swing, so they should have all the value in this matchup.

The decline and fall of the Houston Astros has been a sight to behold. Two years ago, they were in the World Series. Now they’ve dumped both their manager and their general manager.

You could have said the same thing about St. Louis, but the reigning NL champions are back in business in the milquetoast Central Division. They still have something to play for, which makes them a solid bet as underdogs this Wednesday in demoralized Houston – Roy Oswalt’s seven straight trips to the pay window notwithstanding.

Other underdogs worth looking at include Oakland (hosting Toronto), Baltimore (hosting Tampa Bay), and Arizona (at San Diego). The Snakes are barely holding off the Padres in the NL West, but San Diego has some injury concerns, and Arizona probable starter Micah Owings is coming along nicely in his rookie season with quality starts in his last three appearances.

We’ll need to change his name to Micah Earnings. (Now are you ready to bet on baseball? Try Bodog Sportsbook!)

The folks at Flushing Meadows have brought out the bells and whistles for the 2007 U.S. Open. This year’s “innovations” include handheld TVs for select crowd members, giant screens showing live action for free at Rockefeller Center and Madison Square Park, and the always cringe-inducing practice of letting kids sing the National Anthem.

The new features that matter most to tennis handicappers involve expanded match coverage. Those with access to DirecTV will be able to call up a flood of player statistics while watching up to five matches at the same time. And the U.S. Open website has been upgraded with live broadband coverage of evening matches, analysis, and enough real-time stats to choke a horse.

All that info is a godsend for value-conscious bettors who are scouring the lower-ranked players in the first few rounds. It’s also a chance to avoid the grating panel commentary we often get on the tube. Hallelujah.

Road trips are part of the college experience. But football players have more to worry about than running out of Doritos or not showering for three days. A schedule littered with away games in hostile territory can ruin a team’s season.

It’s a very rare event for the top college programs to lose at home. The USC Trojans, for example, have won 33 games in a row at home, setting a Pacific-10 record and going 23-8 ATS over the past five seasons at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

But that’s nothing compared to the blue turf at Bronco Stadium. Boise State is an amazing 51-2 at home since 1999 inclusive. Sure, playing against questionable WAC (and before that, Big West) opponents helps, but the Broncos are also 30-12 ATS at home during that span. Don’t hold your breath waiting for BSU to lose at home this year, either.

No doubt you’ve heard of the Heisman Trophy. Maybe you’re even familiar with the Outland Trophy. The “Freshman of the Year Award” isn’t quite as sexy – only been around since 2001, after all. Texas QB Colt McCoy won last year’s honors; who will be the lucky recipient this year?

Quarterback being the marquee position that it is, you’ll probably hear a lot about Washington’s Jake Locker. According to Scout.com, Locker is “a bigger Marques Tuiasosopo with a stronger arm.” That’s high praise for the local boy – he’s from Ferndale, not far from the Canadian border.

Your other strong FOY candidate is running back DeMarco Murray, who will start the season splitting duties at Oklahoma with senior RB Allen Patrick. Adrian Peterson’s shoes may be too big to fill, but if OU challenges for the Big 12 title, Murray’s contribution will put him in the driver’s seat to win the award – provided Patrick doesn’t steal the spotlight.

Perhaps you’ve noticed the power outage that has plagued Major League Baseball this year. Alex Rodriguez just hit his 40th home run on Monday; Prince Fielder (39 at press time) should join him soon, and that might be it for the 40-homer club this year. Eleven players reached that milestone in 2006.

The easy explanation is the MLB crackdown on steroid and amphetamine use. But that just doesn’t wash. Commonly forgotten in the focus on big-hitters like Barry Bonds is that pitchers are athletes, too, and just as likely to reach out for that bottle of “Vitamin B12.”

The fact is, we don’t really know if steroid usage is up, down or sideways, because we don’t have the raw facts on who’s using. But we do know that Jesse Barfield led the majors in home runs with 40 back in 1986. Maybe baseball players were listening to too much Kenny Loggins.

You would think the NFL would have an image problem, given the conduct of some of its players. Yet the mighty juggernaut rolls on.

In 2000, Ray Lewis accepted a plea bargain on murder charges and served one year of probation for obstruction of justice. Lewis was fined $250,000 by the NFL, but served no suspension.

Shawne Merriman was suspended for four games last year; it was leaked to the press that the suspension was for violating the league’s steroid policy. Merriman was voted to the Pro Bowl.

Nine Cincinnati Bengals were then arrested over the course of nine months for everything from spousal abuse to boating under the influence. Only Chris Henry and Odell Thurman were suspended.

These incidents were splashed across the newspapers and quickly forgotten. Meanwhile, Michael Vick’s about to walk the plank on dogfighting-related charges. Does being an African-American quarterback color the public’s perception? You be the judge.

As usual, the American League is kicking its older brother’s ass. But look who’s doing the kicking: the Seattle Mariners. They’re easily the top MLB team from a handicapping perspective, racking up 22.4 units of profit as of press time on a record of 69-52.

Buyer beware. Like the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League, Seattle has done it with smoke and mirrors. The M’s have barely outscored their opposition (604-589) and have just 59.6 third-order wins, compared to 65.8 for the criminally unlucky 61-64 Oakland Athletics.

The “real” contenders in the junior circuit, not surprisingly, are the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. We know the Yankees are quickly catching up after a bizarrely poor first half, but the 74-50 Red Sox are also better than their record would indicate, posting 78.1 third-order wins and a shade under five units in earnings. Looks like another Yanks-Sox playoff classic in the works.

David Beckham is here. Just one problem – he’s not playing much soccer.Major League Soccer has hyped to the moon Beckham’s arrival on these soccer-wary shores. But ticketholders aren’t impressed. Limited by a swollen ankle, Beckham didn’t dress for matches at Toronto and New England, and came on in the 71st minute for his official MLS debut at D.C. United.

Supporters of the Revolution are especially ticked off. To see Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy, fans had to buy a four-game package. And anyone who ventures to Carson, Calif. this Thursday to watch the Galaxy face Chivas USA is rolling the dice; Beckham may be called up to England’s national team for Wednesday’s friendly at Wembley Stadium against Germany. Beckham reportedly hopes to play both games, but can he?

The good news: Beckham started and finished Saturday’s 5-4 loss to New York in front of 66,000 happy customers at Giants Stadium. Welcome to America.