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09/06/2007 - Announced midfielder Andy Welsh has joined Blackpool of England's Championship on a free transfer.
<< Chivas searching for respect against D.C.
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA has been marching toward the top spot
in the Western Conference, but it faces its biggest challenge yet against D.C.
United on Thursday night.
Chivas has won three in a row - all shutouts - and five
<< Report: Mitchell wants to talk to more players
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Senator George Mitchell reportedly
is seeking cooperation from 45 current or former players as he continues his
investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League
Basebal
<< Burris, Hunt named CFL Players of the Month
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary quarterback Henry Burris and British
Colombia defensive lineman Aaron Hunt were named CFL Players for the Month of
August on Thursday,
Burris was named Offensive Player of the Month after leading th
<< Browns CB Bodden arrested
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden was
arrested at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Wednesday night.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bodden was stopped by police after
putting his 2
Lee wins Senior Amateur >>
Andover, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stanford Lee defeated Sam Farlow, 4 & 3, on
Thursday to win the USGA Senior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club.
"I felt honestly when I came up here that I was good enough to win it, but
even wi
Dredge leads suspended European Masters >>
Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bradley Dredge, the defending
champion, shot a five-under 66 on Thursday to take the lead at the suspended
Omega European Masters.
The start of the first round was delayed by two hours
Surprising Ferrer rolls into U.S. Open semis >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gritty Spaniard David Ferrer was an
easy quarterfinal winner Thursday at the 2007 U.S. Open.
The 15th-seeded Ferrer handled 20th-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2,
6-3, 7-5 at the USTA Billie Jea
Women's semis on tap Friday at the Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The finalists for the 2007 U.S.
Open women's final will be determined here on Friday when Justine Henin meets
Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova battles fellow Russian Anna
Chakvetadze.
The top
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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