03/21/2008 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With eight games to play in the English Premier League season, the title race is shaping up to be a tight one, and Sunday's action will go a long way in helping to determine who will lift the trophy at the end of the season.
Manchester United owns a three-point lead on suddenly-struggling Arsenal, while Chelsea looms just five points back in third place.
Sunday will feature all three teams in action, as well as fourth-place Liverpool, which has won its last five league games to pull to within 11 points of United.
The Red Devils will host Liverpool in one matchup while Arsenal travels to Stamford Bridge to meet Chelsea in another London derby.
United is coming off of a 2-0 win over Bolton on Wednesday that took the team three points clear of Arsenal. Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals to take his total to 33 on the season, but Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez does not think that his team must pay extra attention to the brilliant Portuguese winger.
"They have a lot of good players, so it will be difficult if you just think about Ronaldo. We have to think about all of them," Benitez told the club's website. "I think he's in form but (Fernando) Torres is too."
While Ronaldo has been the most dominant player in the EPL this season, Torres is starting to catch fire and is second in the league with 20 goals behind Ronaldo's 24 in league play.
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso feels as though Torres has just started getting adjusted to the English game, and that he has plenty more to offer over the remainder of the season.
"He has got rid of the pressure he had at Atletico Madrid," Alonso told the club's website. "He is feeling really comfortable playing with his team mates at Liverpool and because of this he is getting better and better each day which is good news for the team. He has settled into the Premier League very quickly and that is encouraging because it can be difficult coming into a new league. He has shown he is not afraid of the physical contact here, with defenders trying to put him off, and that is really important."
While Liverpool does not have realistic expectations in terms of a title run, they do have a fight for fourth place on their hands as they own a three-point lead over rivals Everton.
Arsenal, meanwhile, is trying to just hold onto second place when the club visits Chelsea.
The Gunners have fallen out of the top spot after four successive draws in league play, but striker Robin Van Persie still feels as though his side must come away with a trophy this season.
"We have to win at least one trophy this season," Van Persie told the club's website. "At least, because if we don't we would have played fantastic football for nothing. So we need to win something because this is our moment. We all realize we are in a fantastic position and we need to take these opportunities."
A return to form for Van Persie would go a long way towards helping Arsenal achieve that goal.
The Dutch international has made only three appearances in five months because of a knee ligament injury and a thigh problem. If he can return to his form of last season, Arsenal's potent attack, which has been limited to just two goals in the team's last three EPL matches, should return.
"I'm not a daydreamer, I really think we can win the title and Champions League this season," Van Persie said. "Why not? We have the qualities. We have to stick together and believe in it, belief can take you very far. We have everything to play for. Every game for me now is like a final."
With such a tight race and so little time left in the season, you can bet that all three clubs with title aspirations are feeling the same way.
<< Rangers getting healthy ahead of Hibernian clash
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers has been the hottest team in
the Scottish Premier League for months, and they got some good news on Friday
when it was determined that captain Barry Ferguson, defender Davie Weir and
striker
<< Inter hopes to regain top form against Juve
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan was able to extend its lead in
the Serie A table on Wednesday despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Genoa.
The Nerazzuri will carry a seven-point lead into Saturday's showdown with
third-pla
<< "That's why they call it gambling"
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Klugman, who portrayed Oscar
Madison in the Odd Couple, uttered the above line when speaking to Tony
Randall (Felix Unger) in an episode that dealt with, of all things, gambling.
The more famous quote,
<< Ajax desperate for points as season nears an end
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax missed a big opportunity to
close to within one point of league-leaders PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, but
the Amsterdam club must now turn its attention to finishing off the final five
games o
Gaels battle 'Canes in first round of NCAA Tournament >>
Little Rock, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round of the 70th annual NCAA
Tournament continues this afternoon in Little Rock, as the Miami-Florida
Hurricanes tangle with the Gaels of Saint Mary's-CA at Alltel Arena.
Miami opened the 2007-08
Govs and 'Horns mix it up in NCAA Tournament first-round action >>
Little Rock, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Making their 10th straight NCAA Tournament
appearance, the Texas Longhorns go after the Austin Peay Governors in first-
round action in the South Region at Alltel Arena in Little Rock this
afternoon.
An im
Mavericks face long odds in first-round bout with top-seeded Tigers >>
Little Rock, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mavericks of Texas-Arlington make their
first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the team is rewarded with a first-
round bout against the Memphis Tigers at Alltel Arena in Little Rock.
Winners of th
American huge underdog in first-round game against Tennessee >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what appears to be a lopsided matchup in
the East Region of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the second-seeded Tennessee
Volunteers will battle the American University Eagles in the first round.
Awaiting the winner
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.
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.
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