Catania, Roma finish all square in resumed match

Soccer Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The final 25 minutes of Roma's match at Catania concluded on Wednesday with neither side able to break the 1-1 deadlock they started the day with.

The match was suspended after 65 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch on January 14 with the game tied at 1-1.

Catania's Nicola Legrottaglie opened the scoring after 24 minutes, but watched as Daniele De Rossi equalized for the capital club four minutes later.

Both goalkeepers were called into action to keep the match level as Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg tipped a powerful shot from Cristian Llama over the crossbar five minutes from time.

Roma also had a late chance as Fabio Borini's close-range effort needed a great reaction stop from Catania goalkeeper Tomas Kosicky to preserve a point for his team.

Catania has drawn its last two games to move seven points clear of the drop zone, with Roma sitting 10 points back of leaders Juventus.

Wwwdonbest Soccer Betting News

<< Panthers sign long snapper to 4-year deal
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers signed long snapper J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract on Wednesday. Jansen, 26, has played all 48 games in his three NFL seasons with the Panthers and went without a mistake this p

<< Capello leaves England no better than he found it
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The appointment of Fabio Capello as manager of England's national team in December 2007 was supposed to be a step in the right direction following the disappointing 18-months that Steve McClaren spent at the hel

<< Reds, Ludwick complete 1-year deal
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Ryan Ludwick have finalized a one-year contract. The deal, reported last month but not announced until Wednesday, includes a mutual option for the 2013 season. T

<< Marlins' Bonifacio wins in arbitration
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arbitrators ruled Wednesday in favor of Emilio Bonifacio against the Miami Marlins. Bonifacio will make $2.2 million next season instead of the $1.95 million salary targeted by the team, according to MLB.

<< Ruler On Ice and Shackleford meet in Donn Handicap
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Triple Crown race winners Ruler On Ice and Shackleford head a field of 11 older thoroughbreds for Saturday's 1 1/8- mile Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The two four-year-olds will each be making

Wildcat Creek comes in for Hutcheson Stakes >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of six three-year-olds have been entered for Saturday's $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The seven-furlong contest is an early prep for next month's $1 million Florida Derby.

Benschop helps AZ join PSV at the top of the league >>
The Hague, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A hat trick from Charlison Benschop helped AZ Alkmaar on its way to a 6-0 triumph at Den Haag on Wednesday, allowing the club to join PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table. AZ slip

Flames give D Smith two-year deal >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed defenseman Derek Smith to a two-year contract worth $1.55 million on Wednesday. "Derek came to training camp this year on a two-way contract and played his way into our startin

Celtic topples Hearts to extend SPL lead >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic moved four points clear of second-place Rangers on Wednesday after securing a 4-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle Stadium. The Hoops charged out to a three-goal lead in the first 30 min

Air Force fires basketball coach Reynolds >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Air Force men's basketball coach Jeff Reynolds was fired Wednesday with the team in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh made the announcement. Associate head co

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 Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

RSS Sports Betting Odds Feeds

Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.