12/02/2008 - Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals recalled forward Graham Mink from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, it was announced on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Mink has played six career NHL games, most recently on Nov. 26 when the Caps beat Atlanta, 5-3, at Verizon Center. He is tied for 10th in the AHL with 11 goals and tied for eighth with 24 points through 21 games.
<< White Sox offer Cabrera arbitration
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have offered salary
arbitration to free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
A 12-year veteran with a career .274 batting average, Cabrera hit eight home
runs and drove in 57 runs whil
<< Columbus' Mason named top rookie for November
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason
has been selected as the NHL's top rookie for the month of November.
Mason posted a record of 5-2-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .919 save
percentage and
<< Ajax talking to Real Madrid about Huntelaar
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax has confirmed it has opened
negotiations with Real Madrid over the potential sale of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to
the Spanish champions.
Real have been linked with the Netherlands international a
<< Zenit's Tymoshchuk likely to join Bayern
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness
has revealed the team held an "informative chat" with Zenit St. Petersburg
captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
The Ukraine international midfielder is reported to
Espanyol set to appoint Esnal as new coach >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reports suggest Espanyol will name former
Athletic Bilbao boss Jose Manuel Esnal as its new coach.
The 58-year-old has been tipped to replace Bartolome Marquez, who was axed in
the wake of Espanyol's 1
Gaming: Is History on Alabama's Side? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even though Florida and Alabama will
meet
for just the third time this decade, the two teams have played a record five
SEC Championship Games, with the Gators getting the best of the Crimson Tide
three gam
Hershey's Osala named AHL Rookie of the Month >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League announced
that Hershey Bears left winger Oskar Osala has been named the league's Rookie
of the Month for November.
Osala recorded 10 goals, four assists and a plus-12 rati
Bears' Mink joins Caps >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals recalled forward
Graham Mink from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, it
was announced on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Mink has played six career NHL games, mos
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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