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02/25/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The lowly Sacramento Kings resume a three-game homestand tonight, when they welcome the Charlotte Bobcats to ARCO Arena.
The Kings dropped the opener of the residency on Monday, when Chris Paul scored 27 points and dished out 13 assists and New Orleans welcomed center Tyson Chandler back to the lineup with a 112-105 win over Sacramento.
Chandler, who had been sidelined the last 16 games with a sprained ankle, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. He was traded last week to Oklahoma City but failed the physical, necessitating his return to the Hornets.
Sacramento's Kevin Martin scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the final quarter, but the Kings lost for the eighth time in nine games. The 24 points were an ARCO Arena record for most in a single quarter.
Spencer Hawes had 13 points and tied a career-high with 14 rebounds for the Kings, who fell to 8-19 as the host on the year.
Sacramento will finish its residency by welcoming the Los Angeles Clippers to town on Friday.
The Bobcats, meanwhile, fell to 0-2 on a five-game road trip on Tuesday, when Steve Nash had 22 points and five assists to lead the Phoenix Suns past Charlotte, 112-102, at US Airways Center.
Boris Diaw, who was traded from the Suns to the Bobcats earlier this season, chipped in a season-high 27 points, 10 boards and six helpers for the Bobcats, who have dropped three in a row overall. Raymond Felton totaled 14 points and nine helpers in defeat and Gerald Wallace had 13 points for Charlotte.
Raja Bell, who also was traded from the Suns to the Bobcats earlier this season, had 23 points against his former team.
The Bobcats, who have lost seven straight on the road and are now a miserable 6-20 as the visitor on the year, will finish their trek with visits to Sacramento, Golden State and the LA Clippers.
The home team has won seven of the eight all-time meetings between the two clubs and the Bobcats have never won in Sacramento, losing all four of their trips to California's capital.
<< Flyers aim to stay hot versus Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will shoot for their fifth win in
six games when they welcome the Los Angeles Kings for tonight's
interconference battle at the Wachovia Center.
The Flyers are second in the Atlantic Division and fo
<< Hobbling Spurs resume homestand against Portland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs resume a
three-game homestand Wednesday, when they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers
to the AT&T Center.
The Spurs won Tuesday's opener of the residency as Tony Parker
<< Slumping Pistons hope to snap skid in New Orleans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons' worst season in recent memory appears
to have hit its lowest point.
The slumping club will attempt to avoid its longest losing streak in 14 years
when the Pistons continue their road trip with toni
<< Sharks visit Red Wings for West showdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Western Conference will wrap their
season series tonight, when the top-seeded San Jose Sharks visit the Detroit
Red Wings and Joe Louis Arena.
The Sharks became the first team this season to reach
Movin' on up: Marin Cilic >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia has a new star on the horizon, and
his name is Marin Cilic. The 20-year-old slugger has been rocketing up the
rankings in recent months, and is off to an especially fast start in this
still very young
Stars recall F Conner, assign G Krahn >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled
forward Chris Conner from Peoria of the American Hockey League and assigned
goaltender Brent Krahn to Chicago, also of the AHL.
In 19 games with the Stars th
White Sox sign 22 players, including Quentin >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox agreed to terms on
2009 contracts with 22 players on Wednesday, including outfielder Carlos
Quentin, infielder Josh Fields and pitcher Gavin Floyd.
Quentin had a breakout sea
D-League awards team to Portland >>
Portland, ME (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA Development League expanded to 17
clubs on Wednesday when the league awarded an expansion team to Portland,
Maine.
The latest edition to the league will be owned and operated by Mai
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
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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