04/09/2008 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday's game between the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers was postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday, beginning at 5:05 p.m. (et).
Baltimore's Steve Trachsel and Texas' Kevin Millwood will take the mound in game one, while the O's Adam Loewen and the Rangers' Kason Gabbard are scheduled to start game two.
<< Bayno gets five-year deal at LMU
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Loyola Marymount University formally
announced the hiring of Bill Bayno as its new men's basketball coach on
Wednesday and signed him to a five-year contract.
"It just felt like family at LMU
<< Chakvetadze, Mauresmo, Davenport reach third round in Florida
Amelia Island, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze,
former world No. 1 French star Amelie Mauresmo and American Lindsay Davenport
were second-round winners Wednesday at the $600,000 Bausch & Lomb
Cha
<< Yankees start Bruney instead of Kennedy
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees decided to start
Brian Bruney over the scheduled Ian Kennedy in Wednesday's game against the
Kansas City Royals due to rain in the forecast.
Bruney hasn't allowed a run in three rel
<< A's select Smith; designate Johnson for assignment
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics selected left-
handed pitcher Greg Smith from Triple-A Sacramento Wednesday. To accommodate
the roster move, the club designated first baseman Dan Johnson for assignment.
Smit
Braves activate James, put Soriano on DL >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Braves pitchers Chuck James and Rafael Soriano
traded places on Wednesday, with James coming off the 15-day disabled list to
start against the Rockies, and Soriano moving to the DL with right elbow
tendinitis.
Dalembert, Iguodala help Sixers keep pace in the East >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samuel Dalembert scored 20 points and
hauled in 13 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers maintained their Eastern
Conference playoff standing with a 101-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons at
the Wac
Howard dominates as Magic tame Bulls >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 30 points and grabbed 14
rebounds as the Orlando Magic pummeled the Chicago Bulls, 115-83, at Amway
Arena.
Howard, who had averaged just 8.5 points in his past two games, now has
Washburn, Mariners dominate Rays >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mariners' starter Jarrod Washburn
once again proved why he likes pitching against Tampa Bay, as his one-run,
seven-inning performance on the mound led Seattle to a 7-1 victory at
Tropica
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