Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils begin an important home-and-home series this evening, with the first of the consecutive meetings to take place at Continental Airlines Arena.
These two games carry importance for both teams but are especially crucial for the Rangers, who come into tonight's showdown three points out of a playoff spot. Montreal, the New York Islanders and Toronto are currently tied for the Eastern Conference's final seed with 66 points, with New York having amassed 63 thus far.
Although New Jersey remains in first place in the Atlantic Division, the Devils' lead has been trimmed to five points by Pittsburgh, a team which has posted victories in 12 of its last 14 games.
New York enters the matchup having won four of its five most recent contests, including Sunday's 2-1 decision over Chicago at Madison Square Garden. Martin Straka and Marcel Hossa each scored first-period goals and Henrik Lundqvist made the early lead stand up by stopping 21-of-22 shots.
The Rangers rebounded from Saturday's disappointing 5-3 home defeat to Philadelphia, in which All-Star Brendan Shanahan was briefly hospitalized after colliding with the Flyers' Mike Knuble in the third period. Shanahan suffered a concussion and is sidelined indefinitely.
Defenseman Marek Malik also sat out Sunday's win because of a nagging shoulder injury and is questionable to return tonight.
Jaromir Jagr assisted on Straka's goal to extend his individual scoring streak to six games. The superstar right wing has amassed nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) during the run and has notched an assist in five straight outings.
Straka has now recorded a point in five consecutive games (3 goals, 4 assists).
New Jersey improved to 6-2-0 in February with Saturday's 2-0 triumph over the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Martin Brodeur stopped all 26 chances he faced to post his league-leading 11th shutout, while John Madden and Sergei Brylin each lit the lamp in the win.
Brodeur responded from a subpar performance his previous time out, when the future Hall of Famer surrendered five goals on 24 shots in a 5-4 home loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.
Jamie Langenbrunner earned an assist on Brylin's marker and lengthened his point streak to nine straight games, which is tied with Minnesota' Pavol Demitra for the longest current tear in the NHL. The 31-year-old has three goals and 11 assists over the course of the streak.
Brian Gionta, who leads the Devils with 24 goals, missed his second straight game with a groin pull and remains day-to-day.
The area rivals have split six meetings so far this season, although the Devils have won the last two matchups. The Rangers have also struggled in their recent visits across the river, having dropped four of their last five and six of their eight most recent regular-season games at the Meadowlands.
This series will conclude Thursday at New York's Madison Square Garden.
<< Murray goes for win No. 600 as Senators host Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams headed in different directions face off tonight
at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place, where the Senators wrap up a three-game
homestand with a matchup against the slumping Edmonton Oilers.
Ottawa has won the first two ga
<< Wild try to end futility against Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will try to stop their longest current
losing streak against any team in the league when they host the Dallas Stars
this evening at Xcel Energy Center for the final time this season.
Minnesota has droppe
<< Nuggets, Spurs clash in San Antonio
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have recovered from their eight-game
road trip and return to the AT&T Center this evening to host the Denver
Nuggets.
San Antonio, which is second in the Southwest standings, went 4-4 on the swing
a
<< Pistons visit Central Division-rival Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons try to
get back on the winning track tonight when they hit the road to visit the
Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Detroit had its seven-game winning streak halted with las
Line of Scrimmage: Norv Turner - Bad Things Happen in Threes >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They're rejoicing in Denver, Kansas City,
and Oakland right about now.
Norv Turner is an NFL head coach for the third time, having taken over for
Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, and the rest of the AFC
Martin comes up big both on track and off >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Martin won the 2007 Daytona 500.
Sure, he didn't get the trophy, the huge check or drenched by champagne in
Victory Lane, but that doesn't change the fact that he won the race.
In typical N
Jazz have what it takes to hold on in Northwest Division >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah (35-17) is in first place in the Northwest
Division, 8 1/2 games ahead of the second place Denver Nuggets. Led by All-
Stars Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, the Nuggets will be primed to make a
run at the Jazz.
Cowboys sign Gurode to six-year deal >>
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys signed offensive lineman
Andre Gurode to a six-year contract on Tuesday.
Gurode started all 17 games last season for the Cowboys and was added to the
Pro Bowl as an injury replacement f
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 favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting