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09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain tries to make it two straight wins against the club that has given him more trouble than any other team in his young career when the San Francisco Giants continue their three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers this evening at Dodger Stadium.
Cain is a miserable 1-8 lifetime against the Dodgers with a 3.94 ERA in 15 starts. However, his lone win against them came the last time he faced them back on August 1, when he scattered four hits over 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
"It's obviously been a problem beating [the Dodgers]," Cain said after that elusive first victory. "It's one of those things where definitely I wanted to go out and win."
Cain, who is 10-10 with a 3.11 ERA on the year, did not get a decision on Sunday against Arizona, as he allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of his team's 9-7 win. He also struck out seven and walked a batter.
Opposing him will be Ted Lilly, who will be trying to rebound from his first loss as a Dodger.
Lilly saw his five-start winning streak come to an end Sunday in Colorado, as the Rockies reached him for seven runs and nine hits in just four innings. It was his first loss cine July 9 and dropped him to 8-9 on the season, while raising his earned run average to 3.59.
The 34-year-old left-hander is 3-1 with a 5.12 ERA in five starts against the Giants.
On Friday, Chad Billingsley was strong through eight innings of work and drove in the game-winning runs at the plate to carry Los Angeles to a 4-2 win in the opener of this set.
Billingsley (11-8) yielded two unearned runs on only two hits while walking a pair and fanning seven, with the right-hander combining with Hung-Chi Kuo to set down the last 10 Giants' hitters as the Dodgers ended a brief two-game slide. Kuo recorded his eighth save of the season.
"I seem to catch the Giants on my good day," Billingsley said. "The first few innings I was ahead on my fastball. As the game progressed, I threw more changeups. I could have gone out for the ninth if they wanted me to."
Rod Barajas continued his hot hitting since joining the Dodgers -- a team he grew up rooting for -- by hitting a home run in last night's triumph. Casey Blake went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored for Los Angeles, which has now won seven of 13 matchups with the Giants thus far in 2010.
Barry Zito's (8-11) misery continued, as the Giants lefty was charged with four runs on four hits and four walks while fanning five in just four innings to suffer the loss. He remained winless in his last 10 games, the longest streak of his career.
San Francisco stayed three games behind NL West-leading San Diego, which lost at home to Colorado Friday night, but fell to three games behind Philadelphia in the race for the NL Wild Card.
The Giants had won in five of their past six meetings with the Dodgers prior to Friday's setback.
<< Tigers vie to break even in matchup with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers can pull back to .500 in the midst of a
lengthy second-half slump tonight, when they visit Kauffman Stadium for the
second of three weekend games with the host Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers won Friday's
<< Cellar-dwellers face off again in Bucs-Nats clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm can make it two straight wins
for the Pirates and end his own four-decision skid tonight, when the
Washington Nationals return to PNC Park for the middle test of a three-game
weekend series.
T
<< Halladay aims to pitch surging Phils past Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay goes after win No. 17 this evening, when the
playoff-hopeful Philadelphia Phillies continue their three-game series against
the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
Halladay has lost his last two starts, t
<< Rays resume playoff push in second test with Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays own the best road record of any team in
the majors this season, in part due to their success at Baltimore's Camden
Yards. The postseason contenders will have their sights set on another victory
over the hom
Jimenez keeps three-shot lead in Switzerland >>
Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez protected
his three-shot lead at the European Masters Saturday with a three-under 68 in
the third round.
Jimenez appeared to have shot a 67 after rolling in a long birdie
Eagles acquire DE Barnes from Ravens >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles acquired defensive
end Antwan Barnes from Baltimore in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.
Barnes has spent his entire three-year career with the Ravens, appearing in 38
games.
Woods rebounds nicely with a 65 >>
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods shot a five-under 65 in the second
round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday, matching his lowest round
of the season.
More importantly? Woods played well enough to ensure he makes the 36
Soderling reaches fourth round in Flushing >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time French Open runner-up
Robin Soderling was an easy third-round winner Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Soderling whipped Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on
Day 6 at the US
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.
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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