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05/14/2010 - Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch will start on the pole for Friday's Dover 200 Camping World Truck Series race after topping the charts in qualifying at Dover International Speedway.
Busch posted a lap of 156.481 m.p.h. around the one-mile, concrete-surfaced track for his second pole of the season and the sixth of his truck career.
His fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor, Elliott Sadler, will start on the outside pole after turning a lap of 155.434 m.p.h. Sadler is driving the No.2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. at Dover.
Johnny Sauter, who won two weeks ago at Kansas, qualified third, while Johnny Sauter and Mike Skinner rounded out the top-five.
Four-time and defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. will start sixth, followed by Aric Almirola, points leader Timothy Peters, Matt Crafton and James Buescher.
All 36 drivers qualified for the 200-mile race, which is expected to start around 4:45 p.m. (et), following Sprint Cup qualifying.
<< Stamps release Carpenter
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Stampeders have released linebacker
Dwaine Carpenter, who spent the past three seasons with the club.
Carpenter appeared in 50 games and recorded 119 tackles with two sacks, two
interceptions, f
<< Vickers being treated for blood clots
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR driver Brian Vickers is being treated for
blood clots at an undisclosed Washington, D.C. hospital, Red Bull Racing vice
president and general manager Jay Frye confirmed Friday at Dover International
Speedwa
<< Braden faces Angels in first start since perfecto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that the dust has settled on the 19th perfect game in
Major League history and all the television appearances have subsided, Oakland
Athletics starter Dallas Braden will get back to work tonight in the opener of
a three-g
<< Upstart Nats try to keep rolling in Colorado
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Runs may be scarce in tonight's matchup between the
Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies, as two of the top ERA leaders get
together in the second portion of a four-game series from Coors Field.
Rockies ace Ubaldo Jim
Union need result at home against FC Dallas >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak said
following the expansion club's fourth consecutive defeat last weekend the team
is making mistakes "that should not happen."
Philadelphia has made mistakes in ever
Barca, Real title race goes down to the wire >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona has secured the La Liga title at
Camp Nou in the final match of the season four times, but captain Carles Puyol
warned that Sunday's match against Valladolid "will be no stroll."
Barca enters the
Woodson won't return to Hawks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Woodson reportedly will not return as the
head coach of the Atlanta Hawks next season.
Both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and NBA.com reported that Woodson was
not offered a new contract. The t
Another Staal joins the Hurricanes >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have signed right wing
Jared Staal to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Staal, the younger brother of Hurricanes captain Eric, was acquired by
Carolina on Thursday from Phoe
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.
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