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02/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will shoot for their eighth straight home win tonight when they close out a three-game residency versus the Los Angeles Clippers from the Rose Garden.
Portland has won the first two tests of the homestand and improved to 22-5 as the host following Friday's 108-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Star guard Brandon Roy finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists in leading the Blazers to victory.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which has won four of its last five overall contests and got 19 points off the bench from Rudy Fernandez. The Trail Blazers are currently 2 1/2 games behind Denver for the top spot in the Northwest standings.
Center Greg Oden missed Friday's game with a chip fracture in his left patella and is questionable versus the Clippers.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has dropped two in a row and three of its last four games, including Wednesday's 142-119 decision to the Phoenix Suns in the back end of a home-and-home series at Staples Center.
Al Thornton scored a team-high 33 points for the Clippers, who were without Zach Randolph. Randolph was suspended for two games after punching Phoenix' Louis Amundson on Tuesday. Eric Gordon had 23 points and Baron Davis contributed 14 in defeat.
Davis (leg) and Thornton (foot) are probable for Sunday's game and center Marcus Camby is listed as questionable against Portland because of an inner ear infection. The Clippers are 7-21 as the guest in 2008-09.
The 2008-09 season series between LA and Portland is tied at a game apiece, while the Clippers have won eight of the last 13 meetings between the clubs. The Clips, however, have lost 14 of 18 and 26 of their last 31 trips to the Rose City.
<< Magic host rival Heat in Orlando
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic will host the
rival Miami Heat this evening at Amway Arena.
Orlando has alternated wins and losses over its last nine games and posted a
92-80 triumph at Charlotte on Frida
<< Rockets resume homestand vs. Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets will continue their six-game homestand
Sunday versus the Charlotte Bobcats at the Toyota Center.
Houston has won the first three tests of the residency and four of five
overall, including Friday
<< Gentry's Suns welcome Celtics to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Suns interim head coach Alvin Gentry is off to a
hot start in the desert and will try to guide the team to a fourth consecutive
win tonight versus the Boston Celtics at US Airways Center.
Gentry is 3-0 since t
<< Nuggets close out trip in Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets will close
out an eight-game road trip this evening versus the Milwaukee Bucks at the
Bradley Center.
Denver is 5-2 so far on the trek and 17-12 away from the Pepsi
Pistons try to end slide in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Detroit Pistons will kick off a grueling
five-game road trip Sunday night against LeBron James and the Central
Division-rival Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Detroit has lost five
Astros C Hall to have shoulder surgery >>
Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros catcher Toby Hall has decided
to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
Hall met with members of Houston's medical staff and Astros general manager Ed
Wade to discu
Celtic slip keeps Rangers on top >>
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic was unable to return to the top
of the Scottish Premier League table on Sunday as the Hoops were held to a 1-1
draw by Motherwell at Fir Park Stadium.
Scott McDonald opened the scoring for
Reds sit seven back after City draw >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool's title hopes took another hit
on Sunday as the club was held to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Anfield.
The result leaves the Reds seven points back of leaders Manchester United with
12 g
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.
MySportsbook.com, Online Sportsbook and Casino, is celebrating our 9th football season online since our launch in 1997. MySportsbook.com has experienced exponential growth, having taken over $8 billion in Sports and Casino Wagers since we opened our doors.
This year we will accept over $3 billion in wagers. Tens of thousands of winning wagers are created daily for the 300,000 people that have joined our website. In August of 2005, MySportsbook.com was acquired by Sportingbet, a UK company which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Combined, MySportsbook.com and Sportingbet easily form the world's largest internet sportsbook company and one of the internet's most profitable companies. The acquisition has provided for added transparency and accountability to MySportsbook.com customers and thus provides more safety and security for our customers. Our business is audited by BDO Stoy Hayward, one of the largest auditing firms in London, and our accounts are published quarterly on the London Exchange. We encourage you to take a look around and truly hope you enjoy your experience.
Through advertising deals with the top handicapping sites in the world, MySportsbook.com reaches a global audience and is one of the most commonly visited gaming spots on the Internet.
MySportsbook.com offers the largest selection of casino games and sporting wagers on the Internet. We believe that an educated player is a more responsible gambler, thus we provide you with all of the latest news and handicapping information. MySportsbook.com is your ultimate destination for gaming information and wagering. You can start by signing up in the Casino or Sportsbook. Once you sign up you can use your same login in either the casino or Sportsbook. So do it now and start winning serious money Today!
If at any time you have a question, we have numerous people waiting to help you, so don't be afraid to call our customer service department. We do not take any telephone wagers but we can certainly answer any questions you may have about our service.
MySportsbook.com is officially licensed in Antigua as a preferred licensee recognized by the Directorate of offshore gaming of Antigua and Barbuda.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting