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03/15/2009 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Cheechoo scored in the seventh round of the shootout, and Evgeni Nabokov made it stand up following a 23-save effort in regulation, as San Jose got by the Kings, 2-1, in what was the longest shootout in HP Pavilion history.
The Sharks received a lift with the return of Nabokov following a nearly 2 1/2-week absence. Brian Boucher was called upon for seven straight starts with the No. 1 goaltender nursing a lower-body injury.
San Jose had led the Western Conference for most of the season but currently find themselves a point back of front-running Detroit in the standings thanks to losses in five of their previous six games. Milan Michalek got the regulation tally.
Wayne Simmonds scored in regulation and Erik Ersberg was fantastic in a losing effort, turning back 38-of-39 shots for the Kings, who lost their second game in a row and for the sixth straight time on the road. LA has been held to two goals or fewer in five of those road defeats.
San Jose's Joe Pavelski and Jack Johnson got back-to-back scores in the second round to open the scoring for their respective squads in the shootout. The goaltenders took over from there until Cheechoo faked down Ersberg with a forehand flinch before lifting a shot over his left shoulder.
Teddy Purcell had a chance to extend the game for LA, but Nabokov turned aside a forehand shot to seal the win.
San Jose got on the board 5:28 into the contest, as Dan Boyle and Pavelski traded passes out at the point before the latter flipped it on net, where Michalek tipped it home.
Simmonds tied it up just 41 seconds into the second on a slap shot but the Kings wasted a great shorthanded opportunity early in the third period, when Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar couldn't figure out what to do on a 2-on-0. Kopitar eventually wound up with the puck after Brown dished it right before the goal-mouth, and Kopitar slid on by behind the net before shooting at the widest possible angle.
Ersberg allowed things to stay even way with some stellar goaltending play. His 10 saves in the second were followed by a 13-save third frame, which included a point-blank robbing of Rob Blake in the waning moments of regulation.
Ersberg stoned Blake again in the overtime session on a booming slap shot from the right circle to force a shootout. While not as busy, Nabokov made the necessary saves down the stretch to keep the contest knotted at one.
Game Notes
San Jose is 27-3-4 at home this year and will play its next two on the road...Los Angeles is 13-17-1 on the road this year...The Sharks have won all five meetings with the Kings this season and eight of the last nine meetings as well. That includes four straight wins as the host...Blake also returned and against his old team after missing the last two games due to a foot injury. Blake played with the Kings from 1989 through part of the 2000-01 season and then again in the last two seasons before joining the Sharks this offseason.
<< Barbosa helps Suns burn Thunder
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leandro Barbosa scored 12 of his 22 points in
the fourth quarter as the Suns put the brakes on an ugly six-game losing
streak with a 106-95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Steve Nash made up for an
<< Rinne returns to garner shutout as Predators top Coyotes
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pekka Rinne returned from an illness and made
18 saves for his seventh shutout of the season, and the Nashville Predators
edged the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-0.
J.P. Dumont and David Legwand notched goals for
<< Thunder's Durant back in action against Suns
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant
returned to the court against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday after missing seven
games due to a right ankle injury.
The Thunder went 5-2 without their second-year
<< Utah State earns first conference title with rout of Nevada
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - WAC Player of the Year Gary Wilkinson scored 21
points, and Utah State took home its first-ever conference crown with a 72-62
victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack.
Playing on Nevada's home court, the Aggies
Raiders sign OT Barnes >>
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders made a move to beef up
their offensive line, signing offensive tackle Khalif Barnes to a one-year
contract.
Barnes spent his entire four-year career with Jacksonville after bei
Ravens add CB Carr >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens bolstered their
secondary Saturday, signing cornerback Chris Carr to a two-year contract.
Carr, an undrafted free agent in 2005, played for the Titans in 2008,
registeri
Prugh fires 64 for three-shot win in New Zealand >>
Queenstown, New Zealand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Prugh fired an eight-under 64
Sunday to earn his first Nationwide Tour title at the New Zealand Open.
Prugh finished the event at 19-under-par 269. Not only was this his first tour
win, it w
New England adds Galloway, re-signs DE Wright >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots on Saturday
gave free agent wide receiver Joey Galloway a one-year deal and re-signed
defensive end Mike Wright to a four-year contract.
Galloway will join his fourth ca
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.
MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
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