07/25/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have a chance to really get back in the AL Central race this weekend, as they begin a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.
Detroit, picked by just about everyone to win the division at the start of the season, stumbled out of the gates, but has clawed its way back and enters tonight's opener a season-high three games above .500 and just 5 1/2 games back of the White Sox.
The Tigers won their fourth straight game on Wednesday, as Armando Galarraga was perfect through six innings, and wound up allowing three hits and a run over seven frames, helping Detroit top Kansas City, 7-1, in the final test of a three-game set from Kauffman Stadium.
Galarraga (8-4) began his outing by retiring the first 18 batters he faced, in a bid to become the second Tigers hurler in as many seasons to pitch a no- hitter. In addition, he was nine outs away from becoming the first Detroit starter in franchise history to throw a perfect game.
Miguel Cabrera finished 2-for-5 with three RBI for the Tigers, who took all three games in the series and have won six of eight. Magglio Ordonez added three hits and two runs knocked in, while Edgar Renteria picked up two hits and an RBI.
Cabrera has driven in 14 runs over his last five games.
Hoping to get the Tigers a little closer in the division race tonight will be lefty Nate Robertson, who is 6-8 with a 5.69 ERA. Robertson was hammered in his last start last Saturday in Baltimore, as he allowed seven runs and eight hits in just 2 1/3 innings. However, his offense got him off the hook and he did not factor in the decision of his team's 11-10 loss.
Robertson defeated the White Sox earlier in the year and is 6-6 lifetime against them with a 5.02 ERA in 18 starts.
Chicago, meanwhile, won the final two games of its three-game series with the Detroit Tigers to up their advantage in the division to 2 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins, who were having their problems with the New York Yankees.
The White Sox will be starting a 10-game road trip tonight that will also include stops in Minnesota and Kansas City. Like just about everyone else in the league Chicago is under .500 on the road, posting a 22-27 mark away from home on the season.
Hoping to reverse that trend tonight will be 25-year-old righty Gavin Floyd, who has already beaten the Tigers twice this season. Floyd gave up just one hit over 7 1/3 scoreless innings in that one, as he improved to 3-0 in his young career against them, while lowering his ERA to 2.43 in six starts.
Floyd lost his second straight start on Saturday, as the Kansas City Royals managed three runs (one earned) and four hits off of him in six innings, dropping him to 10-6 to go along with a 3.52 ERA.
Chicago has won five of nine from the Tigers this season after going 11-7 in the season series a year ago.
<< Stumbling Phils return home to battle Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to regroup against
another familiar foe this evening, as they kick off a three-game series
versus the NL East-rival Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia just dr
<< Angels send Saunders to hill at Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Saunders goes after win No. 13 this evening when the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim kick off a 10-game road trip with the first of
three games against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
However, in a year whe
<< Lee shoots for win No. 14 against Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Runs have been quite hard to come by for the Minnesota
Twins during the club's current losing streak. A matchup with Cleveland
Indians ace Cliff Lee likely won't help matters.
The struggling Twins take their swings again
<< Bills T Peters a holdout
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl left tackle Jason
Peters is officially a holdout.
The 26-year-old tackle was not present when the team opened training camp on
Friday. Peters also missed all of Buffalo's volunt
Texans sign first round pick >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans signed offensive tackle
Duane Brown on Friday.
Brown, the team's first round pick, was the 26th overall selection in the 2008
NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. He began his collegiate
D-Backs' Haren to try to shut down light-hitting Giants >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren will try to keep the Arizona Diamondbacks atop
the NL West standings tonight, when he takes the mound in the opener of a
three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Haren has won
Rays try to end road woes in Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays hope to put an end to a seven-game road
losing streak when the American League East co-leaders play the second of four
consecutive contests with the Kansas City Royals tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
Tampa
Dodgers hope to keep pace in series with Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stay within striking
distance of the top spot in the National League West when they open a three-
game series with the Washington Nationals this evening at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodg
MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
About MySportsbook.com:
MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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.
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