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07/30/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart claimed the pole for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Pocono Raceway.
Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, turned a lap of 171.393 m.p.h. around the 2.5-mile triangular track for his second pole of the season and the 14th of his Cup career. His first pole at Pocono came in July 2000.
Last night, Stewart competed in the All-Star Circuit of Champions sprint car event in Fargo, ND. He arrived at Pocono in the early hours of Friday morning.
"I was really, really upset because I crashed by myself into a marker tire in the inside while running second," Stewart said of last night's race in Fargo. "The last thing [World of Outlaws sprint car champion] Donny Schatz told me before I left was to take it out on those guys tomorrow, so I guess we took it out on the stopwatch today, so I'm really proud of that."
Schatz, who drives for Stewart, won the sprint car race.
Stewart won the Pocono 500 (June race) in 2003 and '09. The driver and owner of the No.14 Chevrolet has yet to win a Cup race so far this season.
Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed the outside pole with his qualifying lap of 171.096 m.p.h. Montoya won the pole for last weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He led the most laps at Indy before crashing with less than 15 laps to go and ending up 32nd.
"Last week was a rough week for the team, but to rebound at a place where we don't run that well, it's nice," Montoya said.
Denny Hamlin, who has won the last two races at Pocono, took the third starting spot, followed by Jeff Gordon, a four-time race winner here, and Ryan Newman.
"We knew the cloud cover was going to help us out," Hamlin said. "We had good speed all day, but we just haven't had a great handling race car and it showed. We were all over the race track there. I'm very happy with the time, and we will start near the front, and that is a good starting spot for Sunday."
Jimmie Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, A.J. Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, the Brickyard 400 winner, and Mark Martin completed the top-10.
Points leader Kevin Harvick will start 14th. Harvick currently holds a 184- point advantage over Gordon.
David Stremme and Max Papis failed to qualify.
The 500-mile race at Pocono is scheduled to start shortly after 1:00 p.m. (et).
<< Cowboys' WR Bryant injured
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez
Bryant suffered an apparent right ankle injury during Friday's practice.
Bryant was helped off the field after colliding with a defender toward the end
of the se
<< Hat Trick: Jets bring back Coles for third time
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets and wideout
Laveranues Coles have renewed relations.
The Jets' Twitter page on Friday revealed the signing, and while terms have
yet to be released, the New York Post repo
<< Senators re-sign D Campoli
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators have re-signed defenseman
Chris Campoli to a one-year contract, the team announced Friday.
Campoli, 25, appeared in 67 games for the Senators last season, collecting
four goals and 18
<< Redskins' Haynesworth held out of practice again
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert
Haynesworth was held out of practice for a second straight day Friday after
again failing to pass his conditioning test.
Haynesworth was held out of the R
A's sign first-round selection Choice >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have signed their top
pick of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, outfielder Michael Choice, to a
minor league contract.
Choice was taken 10th overall in the first round.
He was
Isles acquire D Wisniewski from Ducks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks traded newly signed
defenseman James Wisniewski to the New York Islanders for a conditional third-
round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Earlier Friday, the 26-year-old Wisniews
Cards agree to terms with Blair >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals on Friday agreed to
terms with pitcher Seth Blair.
Blair, who was the club's supplemental first round pick, 46th overall, in last
month's draft, will report to Single-A Batavia in th
Padres option Cunningham to Portland >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres on Friday optioned
outfielder Aaron Cunningham to Triple-A Portland.
Cunningham was batting .312 with a home run and 13 RBI in 30 games this season
for the Padres.
The outfielde
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 and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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