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07/28/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to put the brakes on a two-game losing streak this evening when they play the second of three games versus the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The Cubs lost for the fourth time in six chances on Friday, as Edwin Encarnacion singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Reds to a 5-4 win in the series opener.
Bob Howry (5-6) started the inning on the hill for Chicago and allowed a leadoff single to Norris Hopper. Pinch-hitter Juan Castro moved Hopper over with a sacrifice bunt, and Encarnacion followed by ripping a 3-2 pitch to left that allowed Hopper to score standing.
The euphoria came after the Cubs scored a pair of runs off David Weathers (2-3) in the top of the frame. Aramis Ramirez ignited the rally with a single to left, and a base hit by Cliff Floyd put runners at the corners with no outs. Mark DeRosa's base hit cut it to 4-3, and after Jacque Jones was retired on a fielder's choice, Jason Kendall's single to left scored pinch-runner Angel Pagan with the tying run.
It was the fifth blown save for Weathers, who couldn't hold the lead for starter Bronson Arroyo after the right-hander allowed two runs on four hits, with a walk and five strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings.
Encarnacion also added a solo homer for the Reds, who have won four of their last five games.
DeRosa finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Ryan Theriot had a pair of hits and knocked in a run for the Cubs, who are still a major league-best 31-17 since June 3.
Chicago, which is three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central, has not lost three in a row since its season-high six-game slide from May 27-June 2.
Hoping to get the Cubs back in the win column tonight will be lanky left- hander Sean Marshall, who is winless in his last four starts. Marshall suffered the loss on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, despite a pretty solid effort. He surrendered a run on five hits in six innings of that one, but still fell to 4-4 to go along with a 3.25 ERA in his team's 3-0 setback.
Marshall has never faced the Reds.
Cincinnati will counter with Aaron Harang, who is 10-2 with a 3.45 ERA. Harang had one of the most impressive outings of his career in his last trip to the hill on Monday against Milwaukee when he allowed a run and seven hits in 10 innings. Harang didn't get the victory in that one, but Cincinnati won the contest and has now won his last nine starts.
Harang defeated the Cubs earlier in the year and is 6-1 lifetime against them with a 4.23 ERA in 11 starts.
The 29-year-old right-hander, who hasn't lost at Great American Ball Park since May 5, is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last seven home starts.
The Reds have bested the Cubs in five of their seven meetings this year, including a 3-1 mark at home. The teams split 10 games in Cincinnati last season.
<< D-Rays try and avoid eighth straight loss in middle tilt with Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox will try to send the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays to their eighth straight loss tonight, as the two teams resume a three-
game series at Tropicana Field.
On Friday, Tim Wakefield allowed one run over six inning
<< Durbin tries to follow up career performance against Pittsburgh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.D. Durbin tries to build upon the best start of his
career this evening when the Philadelphia Phillies play the middle contest of
their three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park.
Durbin was br
<< Dodgers try again to continue key divisional set with Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers will
try to gain some more breathing room in the standings when they resume what is
now a three-game series with the division-rival Colorado Rockies tonight at
Coors Field
<< Mets, Nats set for day/night affair at Shea
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets try to get back in the win column today
when the play a day/night doubleheader against the Washington Nationals at
Shea Stadium.
The Mets dropped their second straight game in the opener of this four-gam
Rangers, Royals continue series in KC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple of teams residing at the bottom of their
respective division standings meet up at Kauffman Stadium tonight, as the
Texas Rangers do battle with the Kansas City Royals in the second contest of a
three-game series.
Seattle continues set with A's at Safeco >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their longest losing streak of the season now behind
them, the Seattle Mariners will try to continue their run at first place
today, as they resume a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics at Safeco
Field.
Last
Rocket set to launch in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Clemens looks to give New York another solid start
tonight, as the Yankees continue their series with the Baltimore Orioles at
Camden Yards.
Clemens has been sharp for the Yankees this season, although he has just a
Monaco to meet Starace in Kitzbuhel final >>
Kitzbuhel, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco will
face 10th-seeded Italian Potito Starace in Sunday's final of the $1.079
million Austrian Open.
After upsetting top-seed and world No. 7 Tommy Robredo
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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.
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