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12/23/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wyoming Cowboys are off to their best start since 1990-91 at 9-1, but they have to be considered underdogs in tonight's clash with the 13th-ranked UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.
Wyoming opened the season with five straight victories, and after losing a one-point decision to Boise State, the team rallied for four more wins. The Cowboys are fresh off a 93-70 romp over Sacramento State, and while the overall record is certainly impressive, it is obvious that the club has beaten up on some rather weak opponents. After all, the nine victories have come over the likes of CS Bakersfield, Johnson & Wales and Prairie View A&M.
UCLA is 8-2 overall this season, and the team is currently riding a four-game win streak. On Saturday, the Bruins knocked off Mercer by a 76-59 final, and their two losses have come against Michigan and Texas by a combined total of seven points.
UCLA owns a 5-1 series lead over Wyoming, and the teams haven't met since 1987.
Wyoming is racking up an impressive average of 84.2 ppg, and the club has managed to hold the opposition to 69.6 ppg on 37.5 percent shooting from the floor. The Cowboys are outrebounding foes by nearly five boards per contest, and there are four players on the roster scoring over 15 points per game. Afam Muojeke leads Wyoming with 18.6 ppg, and Brandon Ewing adds 17.5 ppg and 6.4 apg. Sean Ogirri is netting 15.6 ppg, and Tyson Johnson checks in with 15.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg. In the 23-point romp over Sacramento State on Saturday, Ogirri posted 25 points to lead his squad. Ewing finished with 20 points and 11 assists while committing just a single turnover, and Muojeke also tallied 20 points to go along with nine rebounds. Johnson and Djibril Thiam contributed 11 points each for the Cowboys, who shot 50 percent from the field and finished with 18 assists against only 10 turnovers.
UCLA is scoring 73.6 ppg on 49.2 percent shooting from the floor, and the squad is permitting a mere 57.8 ppg. Darren Collison leads his team with 15.1 ppg on 54 percent field goal efficiency, and he is shooting 51.6 percent from three-point range while draining 96.4 percent from the foul line. More than just a scorer, Collison is dishing out 4.6 apg as well. Josh Shipp provides 11.2 ppg, and Jrue Holiday checks in with 10.7 ppg. Collison finished with 20 points in the victory over Mercer on Saturday. Michael Roll scored 16 points, Alfred Aboya contributed 14 points, and Holliday finished with 10 points. UCLA allowed Mercer to shoot 50 percent from the floor, but the bruins committed nine fewer turnovers than their counterparts and scored eight more points from the foul line. Shipp didn't play in that game because of a sprained ligament in his left thumb, and it remains to be seen if he will be okay to participate against Wyoming.
<< Longhorns pull into Madison to take on Badgers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Texas Longhorns hope to avenge
a loss in their most recent outing as they take on the Wisconsin Badgers in
Madison this evening.
Texas carried a six-game win streak into Saturday's clash with M
<< Interstate rivals meet in St. Louis, as Illinois battles Missouri
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Scottrade Center in St. Louis is the
sight of the 28th Annual Busch Braggin' Rights game between the Illinois
Fighting Illini and the 25th-ranked Missouri Tigers.
Illinois has won four straight games to i
<< Bengals visit Sun Devils in Tuesday matinee
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-10
Conference welcome the struggling Idaho State Bengals to Tempe this afternoon.
Idaho State has lost its last three games to fall to 2-8 overall. The Bengals
are fresh of
<< Golden Panthers seek upset of 12th-ranked Hoyas
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Georgetown Hoyas carry a five-game win
streak into tonight's non-conference home clash with the Florida International
Golden Panthers.
FIU is 4-8 overall this season, including 0-5 in true road games.
LeBron and Cavs aim to remain perfect at home vs. Rockets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers are right where they want to be, as
the Central Division leaders open a three-game homestand tonight versus the
Houston Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cleveland is the only unbeaten team at home th
Nuggets wrap up home-and-home set in Portland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets aim to remain alone atop the NBA's
Northwest Division and sweep a home-and-home series against the second-place
Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at the Rose Garden.
The shorthanded Nuggets won
Streaking Devils aim to cool off red-hot Bruins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of red-hot Eastern Conference foes will meet
tonight in Boston as the Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a showdown
at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins have been the best team in the East this year as they lead
Grizzlies try to stop skid against Mavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies aim to snap an ugly 12-game losing
streak to Dallas on Tuesday when they travel to North Texas to face the
Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
The Grizz haven't beaten the Mavericks s
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.
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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