Dickey, Mets take series with Astros
Baseball Betting Lines
08/29/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - R.A. Dickey worked seven-plus solid innings and helped his own cause with a two-run single, as the New York Mets earned a 5-1 decision over the Houston Astros in the rubber match of a three-game series at Citi Field.
Josh Thole went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and scored twice for the Mets, who have split their last six games overall.
Dickey (9-5) allowed one run on six hits to earn his third win in four decisions. The knuckleballer, who has now pitched at least seven innings in four straight starts, walked two and struck out a pair. He finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Michael Bourn had an RBI infield single for Houston, which had won six of seven entering the series finale.
Bud Norris (6-8), a winner of four straight decisions coming in, yielded eight hits, five runs and three walks while fanning five over 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace has a broken foot which will cause him to miss the team's September 13 season opener against Baltimore. According to the Jets official Twitter page, Pace wi
<< Florida SS Ramirez exits game vs. Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was
pulled from Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves with apparent light-
headedness.
Ramirez slid into second on a play in the third inning, and the t
<< Edoardo Molinari wins again; picked for Ryder Cup
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to join his brother Francesco
on the European Ryder Cup team, Edoardo Molinari put together a stunning
finish to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Edoardo fell two stro
<< Indians pitching legend Feller battling leukemia
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob
Feller is battling leukemia at the age of 91.
Feller was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia less than two weeks ago and
spent two days at the Cleveland
<< Monty tabs Harrington, two others for Ryder Cup
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European Ryder Cup captain Colin
Montgomerie selected Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari to
round out his team on Sunday.
They joined the nine players who automatically qu
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Porcello spun seven solid innings and Ryan Raburn belted two home runs, finishing with four RBI, as the Detroit Tigers pounded Toronto, 10-4, to salvage a split of a four-game series at Rogers Centre.
Maier, Royals clip Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mitch Maier homered and drove in two runs,
helping the Kansas City Royals salvage a three-game series with a 6-2 win over
the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
Alex Gordon added two hits, while Ki
Reds make the most of error, take rubber game from Cubs >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Heisey scored the go-ahead run on a
throwing error in the bottom of the eighth inning as Cincinnati coughed up a
late lead and then came back to beat Chicago, 7-5, in the rubber match of a
three-g
Cardinals fall to Nats, lose ground in NL Central >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lannan spun 7 2/3 solid innings and
Mike Morse belted a two-run home run as Washington continued to put a crimp in
St. Louis' playoff push with a 4-2 win Sunday to close a four-game series.
Lannan
Kirk gets 2nd Nationwide Tour win of season >>
Farragut, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kirk fired a five-under 67 on Sunday to
win the Knoxville Sentinel Open by two shots and capture his second Nationwide
Tour victory of the season.
Kirk, who also won the Fort Smith Classic, finished
Sportsbooks to bet on football
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.
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.