Bottom feeders, L.A., N.E. aim to gain ground

Soccer Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Major League Soccer clubs stuck in the bottom third of their respective conference tables square off on Saturday when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the New England Revolution at The Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy (3-3-9) are actually coming off an impressive 1-0 win over league leading Houston in their last league match on Sunday.

"I thought for the first time this year our central backs played extremely well over 90 minutes," Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said. "They were pretty consistent. They didn't make any mistakes. They controlled the line very well, and organized the team extremely well. To me, it was all about our central backs, the start of the game was better. We consistently at home have given up the first goal, played with 10 players and done all the things you do to lose games. Fortunately, we got a point out of a lot of them. We corrected those mistakes [vs. Houston]. We didn't put ourselves behind the eight ball and chase the game."

The Galaxy are hoping a busy July schedule will propel them right back into playoff contention.

"We talked about trying to get ahead of in games, and play the game on our terms while also doing a better job in reacting to goals against us if we do fall behind," L.A.'s Eddie Lewis said. "But in general, it was a very good win for us. It is another building block for us as we move on in the season."

New England (4-4-4), on the other hand, is coming off a 3-1 loss in its last league fixture on June 13 at Kansas City. The team has been successful as of late, however, with two wins in three tries in SuperLiga action.

"I don't know if you guys have looked at our bench, but it's looking pretty slim. We only have three or four guys. Rosters were cut this year and it's become a lot more difficult on us," said defender Jeff Larentowicz. "At this point, we're playing in essentially three different competitions right now so we're going to have four or five games in two weeks. It's a lot of games with half the roster."

The Revs will be without defender Jay Heaps because of his participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, while defender Chris Albright, midfielders Mauricio Castro, Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston, and forward Taylor Twellman are out with injuries. Defenders Kevin Alston and Gabriel Badilla are questionable with knocks of their own.

"We're already bare-bones coming into the game," Revolution defender Chris Tierney said. "What did we have, 15 guys? We've had so many games. Guys are struggling with knocks and we just can't take risks. If someone pulls something, they have to come out. There's nothing we can do about it."

The Galaxy will be without goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts because of international duty and defenders Sean Franklin and Julian Valentin because of injury. Midfielder Dema Kovalenko and defender Yohance Marshall are questionable and goalkeeper Josh Saunders is probable.

Wwwi-casino Soccer Betting News

<< Braves hold on to beat Nationals, extend win streak to five
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad's first home run of his career was a pinch-hit, three-run shot to help the Atlanta Braves take a 9-8 win over the Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game set. Chipper Jones, Yunel Es

<< Stockton shares Edmonton Open lead with two others
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brady Stockton posted a three-under 69 Friday to remain a co-leader after two rounds of the Edmonton Open. Stockton, who shared the first-round lead with Robert Gates, completed 36 holes at 10-under-par

<< Leaving a trail: Turkoglu breaks off talks with Blazers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall those talks apparently broke off. The Oregonian newspaper originally reported Tu

<< Lopez solid on the mound as Phils handle Mets
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies recalled Rodrigo Lopez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start the opener of a three-game series with the rival Mets, and the right-hander responded with a quality outing in a 7-2 Philade

<< Wizards will try to make move vs. powerful Houston club
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards face a tough task on Saturday when they host the Major League Soccer leading Houston Dynamo at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Wizards (5-5-4) are keen on making a move up the Eas

Choo and Tribe pound A's >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers, a career-high seven runs batted in and scored four times, as the Cleveland Indians crushed the Oakland Athletics, 15-3, in the opener of a three-game series

White Sox stay hot, upend Greinke's Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks was dominant in 7 1/3 shutout innings, as the red-hot Chicago White Sox extended their season-best winning streak to seven games with a 5-0 blanking of the Kansas City Royals. Danks (7-6) h

Hoffpauir's first career hit, Pujols' slam lifts Cards over Reds >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrett Hoffpauir came through in a big way in his major league debut, hitting the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning, lifting St. Louis to a 7-4 win over Cincinnati, in the opener of a three-g

Mariners squeak past Red Sox in 11 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles, including a two-run double in the top of the 11th, to lift the Seattle Mariners past the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in the opener of a three-g

Moss and Vazquez lead Pirates over Marlins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez hit early home runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down Hanley Ramirez, on the way to a 7-4 win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series. Charlie Morton

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Sportsbooks to bet on football

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.