08/27/2008 - Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United have been rocked by the news that winger James Milner has handed in a transfer request at St James' Park.
The 22-year-old has been with the Magpies since the summer of 2004, when he moved to Tyneside for $6.6 million from Leeds United, but he has been linked with a return to Aston Villa.
England Under-21 international Milner spent the whole of the 2005-06 season on loan at Villa Park, scoring three times in 33 appearances for the Midlands club.
A statement on the club's official website read: "Newcastle United can confirm that it has received a written transfer request from James Milner.
"The club is very disappointed that James sees his footballing future as being away from St. James' Park. He is a valued member of the squad and it is only a year ago that he signed an improved long-term contract."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Dortmund inks Lee from Tottenham
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Korea international Young-Pyo Lee
has ended his three-year association with Tottenham by completing his switch
to Borussia Dortmund.
The 31-year-old made 93 appearances for the club followin
<< Barry ends exit talk, pledges future to Villa
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aston Villa's England midfielder Gareth
Barry will not leave the club before the transfer window shuts at the end of
the month, ending talk of a move to either Liverpool or Arsenal.
The 27-year-old
<< Second-ranked Buckeyes open 2008 slate against visiting Penguins
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes have
lost the national title game the last two years, and they hope for another
chance to capture college football's ultimate prize as they begin the 2008
season against Youn
<< Huskies and Ducks meet in season-opening Pac-10 clash
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is rare that conference rivals face one
another in the season opener, but that will be the case in Eugene on Saturday
night as the 21st-ranked Oregon Ducks welcome the Washington Huskies to town
for a Pac-10 cla
NASCAR puts Busch, Edwards on probation for post-race incident >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR placed Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards
on probation for the next six races of the Sprint Cup Series after the two
traded intentional bumps following Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor
Speedwa
Davydenko cruises in U.S. opener >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian star Nikolay Davydenko was
an easy first-round winner Wednesday at the 2008 U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Davydenko drubbed Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 at the USTA
Billie Jean King Nationa
Kuznetsova reaches third round in NYC >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion and last year's
runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova was a second-round winner Wednesday at the U.S.
Open.
The third-seeded Kuznetsova, of Russia, was tested in the first set before
cruisi
DE Harvey ends holdout, signs with Jaguars >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive end Derrick Harvey
ended his 33-day holdout on Wednesday, and has agreed to a deal with the
Jacksonville Jaguars that could reportedly be worth more than $33 million.
Harvey
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting