07/19/2008 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been forced to leave the club's training camp in Switzerland and has returned home after picking up a groin injury.
"Steven has a slight groin strain which will keep him out for between seven and ten days," Reds spokesman Ian Cotton said. "He's left the training camp to return to Melwood where he will receive treatment on the injury."
Meanwhile, boss Rafa Benitez is pleased with the way preseason is going, and is particularly satisfied with the way some of his fringe first-team players are performing.
"Voronin played really well the other day and Lucas did well," Benitez told the club's official website.
"It is also very positive to see Daniel Agger playing again. It is very positive for us to see the likes of Pacheco, Lucas and Voronin playing really well.
"All of the players are training very well and really hard. They are enjoying the training we are doing and that is the balance that you are looking for - to work hard and also to enjoy it.
"They are working really hard and you need to push them. We have been doing some tactical and technical work and we have also had the players in the gym as well. The physical level of the players is getting better and better after every training session.
"When you play a game you know sometimes they will be a little bit tired but this is preseason and that is the idea. They are all doing really well."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Wozniak gains final as Serena retires at Stanford
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Serena Williams bowed out in the
semifinals of the $600,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis event on Saturday.
Things did not start off well for last month's Wimbledon runner-up
to h
<< Tottenham reports United, Liverpool to league
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham has reported Manchester United and
Liverpool to the Premier League for their attempts to sign Dimitar Berbatov and
Robbie Keane.
Sir Alex Ferguson's claims that United expects to sign Berbatov hav
<< British Open Third Round News & Notes
Southport, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the insane wind conditions, some of
the busiest people at Royal Birkdale on Saturday were rules officials.
Balls were oscillating all over Royal Birkdale and at one point, Anthony Kim
brought in
<< Tseng one up on Wie at State Farm
Springfield, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yani Tseng claimed her first major
championship in June and has carried that momentum over to this week's State
Farm Classic.
Tseng fired her third straight six-under 66 Saturday to grab a one-shot lead
af
Coles, Flanagan top crowded leaderboard >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gavin Coles carded a two-under 68 Saturday to
move into a share of the lead after three rounds of the U.S. Bank Championship
in Milwaukee.
Coles joined Nick Flanagan atop the leaderboard at 11-under-par 199.
Cannon stops PK to help San Jose tie Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Cannon saved a penalty kick to help the San
Jose Earthquakes tie Toronto FC, 0-0, on Saturday at BMO Field as both teams
failed to snap winless skids.
Cannon denied Toronto midfielder Amado Guevara in t
Astros place Oswalt on disabled list >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros placed pitcher Roy
Oswalt on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. The move is retroactive to July
12.
The 30-year-old hurler underwent an MRI earlier in the day, which confirmed a
Skinner grabs truck pole at Kentucky >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Skinner captured the pole for Saturday
night's Built Ford Tough 225 at the Kentucky Speedway. The No.5 Bill Davis
Racing Toyota driver rounded the 1.5-mile speedway in 31.487 seconds (171.499
m.p.h.)
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit 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 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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