Let's play two: Fredette carries BYU over Florida in extra time

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmer Fredette drilled a pair of huge three-pointers in the second overtime period and finished with 37 points, as BYU ended an eight-game NCAA Tournament losing streak with a 99-92 victory over Florida in the first round of the West Region.

Michael Loyd Jr. chipped in 26 points for BYU (30-5), which last won an NCAA tourney game in 1993 as a seventh seed in the first round against SMU. The Cougars, seeded seventh again this year, will next play the winner between Kansas State and North Texas in the second round on Saturday.

Another win could give the Cougars a huge advantage next weekend, as the West Region semifinals and final will be played in Salt Lake City. BYU, however, hasn't advanced past the second round since 1981 when the Cougars, behind Danny Ainge, knocked off Princeton, UCLA and Notre Dame before falling to Virginia in the regional final.

Kenny Boynton scored 27 points before fouling out in the second extra period for Florida (21-13), which was back in the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence. The Gators had won the national championship in each of their last two tourney appearances and lost an NCAA game for the first time since a second-round setback to Villanova in 2005.

Supercazino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Michigan to host Notre Dame in first night game at Big House
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Michigan announced Thursday it will host its first-ever primetime game on September 10, 2011 against rival Notre Dame. "This will be an unprecedented game day atmosphere th

<< Hamburg's Ze Roberto rules out move to MLS
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg veteran Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto has dismissed rumors linking him with a switch to Red Bull New York in Major League Soccer at the end of this season. It had been suggested that the MLS s

<< Pavlyuchenko may stay at Tottenham
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is now pondering staying at White Hart Lane beyond the end of the season, even though he seemed certain to move on in the January transfer window. The 28-year-old Russi

<< Bracket Breakdown
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Being a member of the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament is a thankless job that always comes with harsh criticism. This year is no different. While there were no real egregious omissions (perhaps M

<< Marlins to host Mets in Puerto Rico in June
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins will host the New York Mets for three games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico from June 28-30, the league announced today. "Major League Baseball is thrilled to br

Old Dominion edges Notre Dame >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keyon Carter made two crucial free throws with 9.6 seconds left in regulation, proving to be the difference as 11th- seeded Old Dominion knocked off sixth-seeded Notre Dame, 51-50, in the first round o

PSG fan dies following attack >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Paris Saint-Germain fan who was attacked by rival supporters last month died Wednesday night after spending nearly three weeks in a coma. The 38-year-old PSG fan, who was not identified, sustained major h

Juve's Buffon not headed to Bayern >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gianluigi Buffon's agent has ruled out the possibility of the goalkeeper being used as a makeweight in any deal to bring Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery to Juventus. Recent rumors had suggested Bayern we

Birmingham, McLeish open contract talks >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has confirmed talks have begun over a new contract with the Premier League club. McLeish took charge at St Andrew's in November 2007 and led City to promotio

Villanova avoids upset, edges Robert Morris in OT >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottie Reynolds was held out of the starting lineup by head coach Jay Wright, but came off the bench to score five of his team-high 20 points in overtime, as Villanova escaped with a 73-70 win over Ro

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.

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.