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02/15/2012 - Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner led all scorers with 28 points as top-ranked Baylor dominated Oklahoma State 83-51 at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday.
Griner also ripped down 10 boards and turned away six shots, while Kimetria Hayden added 20 points for the Lady Bears (26-0, 13-0 Big 12), who were coming off an impressive 71-48 win over No. 14 Texas A&M.
Taylor Schippers scored 11 points and Liz Donohoe added 10 for Oklahoma State (13-9, 5-8). The Cowgirls have now lost two straight and five of their last six contests.
After trailing 8-6 early on, Baylor reeled off a 19-4 run to take a 25-12 lead with 11:11 to play in the first half.
Oklahoma State struggled from long range, knocking down just two of its 13 attempts in the first half, and trailed 41-24 at intermission.
The Lady Bears cruised in the second half as they dominated the paint, outscoring Oklahoma State 46-16 on their way to a lopsided victory.
<< Murray State takes care of Redhawks
Cape Girardeau, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donte Poole poured in a game-high 25
points, leading No. 16 Murray State to a 75-66 win over Southeast Missouri
State on Wednesday.
Ivan Aska netted 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds, wh
<< Cavs handle Pacers in Irving's return
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyrie Irving came back from a three-game
absence and scored 22 points, and the Cavaliers never trailed while earning a
98-87 victory over the shorthanded Pacers.
Irving, who suffered a concussion duri
<< Gordon, Pistons pull away from Celtics
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Gordon scored 12 of his 22 points in the
fourth quarter as the Detroit Pistons pulled away to take a 98-88 victory over
the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
Rodney Stuckey paced Detroit with 25 points and Gr
<< Wichita State clinches share of MVC title
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Stutz's double-double of 21 points and
10 rebounds powered No. 24 Wichita State to a 73-58 win over Missouri State
and a share of the MVC regular-season title on Wednesday.
Ben Smith had 14 points a
Hornets break road skid with win in Milwaukee >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marco Belinelli led the Hornets with 22
points as New Orleans snapped a six-game road losing streak, defeating the
Milwaukee Bucks 92-89 at Bradley Center on Wednesday.
Chris Kaman added a double-
Anderson, Senators beat Panthers 6-2 >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Anderson came back to haunt his old team
on Wednesday.
The 30-year old goaltender, who used to wear a Panthers sweater, made 42 saves
Wednesday to backstop the Ottawa Senators to a 6-2 win over Fl
No. 3 Missouri cruises against Oklahoma State >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Denmon scored a team-high 17 points as
No. 3 Missouri rolled past Oklahoma State with an 83-65 victory at Mizzou
Arena.
Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Phil Pressey and K
Seguin lifts Bruins over Canadiens in SO >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Seguin scored the winner in the shootout
as Boston took a 4-3 win over Montreal at Bell Centre.
Boston had blown a two-goal lead in the third, but Seguin scored on the second
chance of the shootout when
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.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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