Blackhawks re-sign wingers Bickell and Skille
Hockey Betting Lines
07/28/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks re-signed left wing Bryan Bickell to a three-year contract and right wing Jack Skille to a one- year contract on Wednesday.
Bickell split the 2009-10 campaign between Chicago and the Blackhawks' American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford. He registered three goals and one assist in 16 NHL games, while collecting 16 goals and 31 points in 65 games for the IceHogs.
The Ontario native has five goals and one assist in 23 career games with the Blackhawks.
Skille was Chicago's first choice (seventh overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He has five goals and eight points in 30 NHL games.
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors have acquired center David Andersen and cash considerations from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2015 protected second-round draft choice. The Australian-born Andersen avera
<< Clippers re-sign Butler
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers have re-signed
forward Rasual Butler, the team announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal were
not disclosed.
Butler, 31, averaged a career-best 11.9 points in 82 games for th
<< Saints sign TE Graham, QB Ramsey
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints signed tight end
Jimmy Graham and quarterback Patrick Ramsey on Wednesday.
Graham, a third-round pick out of Miami-Florida, played in 13 games for the
Hurricanes last season
<< Formula One
Agreed on a 10-year contract to continue the Monaco Grand Prix.
<< Hendrick Motorsports
Promoted Marshall Carlson to president and COO.
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Phillips hit his fourth career grand slam while Joey Votto went 3-for-5 with a home run, powering the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-2 victory in the rubber match of a three-game series. Phillips, who
Bills sign second-round pick Troup >>
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have agreed to terms with
rookie defensive tackle Torrell Troup.
Troup was selected 41st overall out of Central Florida in April's draft.
Last season, he recorded 35 tackles and two sack
Angels' Pineiro out 6-to-8 weeks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher Joel
Pineiro will miss the next 6-to-8 weeks after straining a muscle.
Pineiro suffered the injury to his left side while warming up for a start
against the Boston Red Sox
Tribe send INF Peralta to Tigers >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have acquired infielder
Jhonny Peralta and cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians in exchange
for left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto.
Peralta hit .246 with seven home runs a
Rays OF Upton to miss a few days >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton
was not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Detroit and is expected to
miss two-to-three days with a sprained left ankle.
He suffered the injury in Tuesda
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.
MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!
Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives
away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter
- All you have to do is play at least 10
hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the
specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host
randomly hands out free bonuses ranging
from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who
will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.
"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.