12/03/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have been on a roll and will continue a five-game road trip this evening against the lowly Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.
Portland has won five straight overall and is 2-0 so far on the trek. It improved to 6-6 away from the Rose Garden this season with Tuesday's 104-97 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, as Brandon Roy scored 23 points and handed out five assists to lead the Blazers.
Rudy Fernandez added 18 points off the bench for Portland, which will also visit Boston and Toronto on the swing. LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw scored 17 and 16, respectively, while Steve Blake ended with 15 points and six assists in a winning effort.
The Blazers are 6-0 against the Eastern Conference this season.
Washington ended a two-game losing streak with a 108-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets last night at the Izod Center. Caron Butler scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists for the Wizards, who entered Tuesday's contest 0-11 in the Eastern Conference and 0-6 on the road.
Antawn Jamison added 22 points and eight rebounds while DeShawn Stevenson tallied 21 points in the win. The Wizards will open a short two-game homestand tonight versus the Blazers and Lakers, and have lost two in a row in DC.
Washington is 2-6 at the Verizon Center this season. On the injury front for the Wizards, Butler is listed as probable for Wednesday's game with a groin problem. Butler is averaging a team-high 21.7 points per game for Washington, which improved to 2-2 under interim coach Ed Tapscott. He replaced the fired Eddie Jordan late last month after a 1-10 start.
Portland and Washington split a pair of games last season, with each team winning on its home floor. The Trail Blazers have won four of five overall matchups with the Wizards and 10 of the last 15 encounters on the road.
<< Lakers aim to bounce back from first road loss vs. Sixers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to rebound from their first
road loss of the season tonight when they resume a three-game trek against the
Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Los Angeles is coming off a tough 118-11
<< Georgia Tech staying home for bowl season
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia Tech won't be traveling anywhere for a
bowl game this year, instead it will remain home to play in the Chick-Fil-A
Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3) have accepted a bid to play
<< Thornton, Sharks crush Leafs
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three
assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the
Shark Tank.
Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also
<< No. 25 Marquette fends off Central Michigan
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews scored 18 points to help the
25th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles defeat Central Michigan, 81-67 at the
Bradley Center.
Dominic James had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for
Orange put perfect record on line versus Big Red >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Syracuse Orange welcome the
Cornell Big Red to the Carrier Dome for a non-conference battle.
Cornell, a member of the Ivy League, carries a 4-3 overall record into this
tilt. The most recent ou
No. 10 Tennessee hosts UNC-Asheville >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers are
heavy favorites in tonight's non-conference home clash with the UNC-Asheville
Bulldogs.
UNC-Asheville opened the season with three straight victories, all by double
f
Tigers standing in way of 7-0 start for Musketeers >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Xavier Musketeers resume
their three-game homestand tonight, as they welcome the Auburn Tigers to the
Cintas Center for a non-league affair.
The Musketeers kicked of their home swing on Satur
Dukes challenge Panthers in clash of Steel City rivals >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers seek
their eighth straight win to begin the 2008-09 season, when they welcome local
rival Duquesne to the Petersen Events Center this evening for non-conference
action.
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.
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
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