Zobrist, Rays edge A's
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the
seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against
the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third consecutive quality start, throwing
six innings on just two runs and six hits. He struck out six and walked one
in the win. The Rays bullpen pitched three scoreless innings, including Troy
Percival's 27th save of the season.
Eric Hinske finished the day 3-for-3 with a homer while Carlos Pena added
another home run to give Tampa Bay its sixth win in eight games.
Justin Duchscherer (10-8) lost his third straight decision, and the team lost
its sixth consecutive game in which the righty has pitched. He finished the
day after 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out a
career-high eight and walking one.
Eric Patterson knocked in two runs after being called up earlier Wednesday
from Triple-A Sacramento. Mark Ellis and Bobby Crosby added two hits apiece in
the loss, Oakland's 13th in 15 games.
The Rays took the lead in the seventh. Hinske led off with a single, and two
batters later Gabe Gross reached on an infield single, moving the runner to
second.
Justin Ruggiano pinch-ran for Hinske, and Jerry Blevins came on in relief of
Duchscherer. Zobrist was the first batter Blevins faced, and he laced a double
down the left field line, scoring Ruggiano and giving Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead.
Jack Cust led off the Oakland ninth by drawing a walk. Rajai Davis came in to
pinch-run and was quickly erased as he was gunned down attempting to steal
second. Crosby popped out and after Emil Brown walked, Kurt Suzuki popped out
to second to end the game.
Tampa Bay added home runs in both the first and second innings for an early
2-0 lead. Pena's 22nd homer of the year with two outs in the first accounted
for the first run, and Hinske's 17th of the season to lead off the second
provided the second run.
The Athletics came back to tie the game in the fifth. Crosby led off with a
double, and Jack Hannahan singled to put runners on the corners. After
Suzuki walked to load the bases, Patterson singled down the right field line
to score Crosby and Hannahan, tying the game.
Game Notes
Tampa Bay leads the season series 5-3...Before the game the Athletics placed
Ryan Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb. The
team replaced Sweeney on the roster with Patterson...Oakland third baseman
Eric Chavez had successful surgery to repair his right shoulder Wednesday.
The six-time Gold Glove winner should make a full recovery after six months.
<< Izturis leaves after injuring thumb
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer
Izturis left Wednesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners in the top of
the ninth with an injury to his thumb.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards
<< Oklahoma City
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.
<< The San Jose Earthquakes
Waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery.
<< Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will
have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of
his left knee, the club announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear
<< Buehrle helps White Sox complete second straight shutout of Royals
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings, and
Jermaine Dye finished with a double and run batted in for Chicago, which shut
out Kansas City for the second game in a row, 4-0.
On Tuesday, in the opener of t
Sabathia remains unbeated with Milwaukee, tops Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia threw seven effective innings and
Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in to help Milwaukee tie a
season high with its eighth consecutive win, a 7-1 victory over San Diego.
The Bre
Im in front at Montreal Open >>
Ile Bizard, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Im fired an eight-under 63 on
Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Montreal Open at The Champions
Course at Saint-Raphael Golf Club.
George Bradford is alone in second place at six-
May leads Xerox Classic >>
Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bob May, who lost the 2000 PGA Championship
in a playoff to Tiger Woods, posted a six-under 64 on Thursday to take the
first-round lead of the Xerox Classic.
Dave Schultz is alone in second place at fi
Giants' Rowand leaves game with back tightness >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants center fielder Aaron
Rowand left Thursday's game against the Astros in the second inning with
tightness in his lower back. He is day-to-day with the injury.
Rowand batted and f
Cubs' Ramirez leaves game >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez
left Thursday's game against the Atlanta Braves with a left hip contusion.
Ramirez scored from second on a double by Geovany Soto in the fifth inning and
grimaced
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.
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.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15, 2007)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting odds on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.
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