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Billups, Denver top Spurs for fourth straight winBasketball Betting Lines11/20/2008 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, doled out six assists and hauled in five rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets in a 91-81 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. "We've just come in every night focused on the game plan and focused on what we got to do to beat whatever team it is," Billups said. "We've played some tough teams, and we've been successful, so we just got to continue to build on what we've done." Carmelo Anthony poured in 21 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out seven helpers for the Nuggets, who have won four straight and seven of eight overall. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and Nene 16 in the win. "I think this team is really starting to feel good about what they are doing on the basketball court," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "I really feel like we got things done as a team tonight. I really enjoyed the defensive intensity in almost every possession." George Hill scored 20 points for the Spurs, who saw their season-high three- game win streak come to an end. Michael Finley gave 13 points, while Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 boards. "It's very disappointing when you lose a game," Hill said. "You always go out there to win. We learned from it. We learn from our mistakes. We made a couple of bonehead mistakes down the stretch, and it hurt us. It just shows you, in this league you can't make mistakes. You have to be successful at both ends of the court." The Nuggets held a slight 22-21 lead after 12 minutes but opened a 50-40 lead at the break. Denver led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but a Duncan three- point play made it 62-51 with five minutes left in the stanza. With the Spurs still trailing by 11, the Nuggets closed out the quarter with an 11-1 run to take a 75-54 lead into the final stanza. Billups had seven points on the run, with Anthony pouring in two technical free throws off a Duncan foul, while Martin's dunk closed it out. A Roger Mason layup and Anthony Tolliver three-pointer brought the Spurs to within 14 points, 85-71, with 5 1/2 minutes left. The home team failed to close within the final margin the rest of the way, as the Nuggets cruised to an easy victory. Game Notes The Spurs went 2-for-17 from three-point range. The Nuggets were 6-of-13 from behind the arc...San Antonio was 29-of-75 from the field, as Denver hit 30- of-65 shots from the floor...Denver improved to 5-1 since acquiring Billups in a trade for Allen Iverson with Detroit.
<< Ovechkin leads Caps past Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin registered a goal and three assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-4, at Honda Center. David Steckel had a goal and an assist, while Michael Nylander collected
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Boozer injured in win over Bucks >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer suffered a strained left quad tendon during Wednesday's 105-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Boozer, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds, left the game in the four
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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 week 1 NFL linesNow that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow. Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season. Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints. These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order. As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS. The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens. The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers. MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds: Saints +6 @ Colts -6 Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em) Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em) Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5 Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1 Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3 Patriots -5 @ Jets +5 Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5 Steelers -4 @ Browns +4 Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6 Bears +6 @ Chargers -6 Lions +3 @ Raiders -3 Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5 Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4 Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3 Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3 Super Bowl line (2008) NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5 MySportsbook is a large, publicly traded company with strong financial backing. You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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