05/11/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's game between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Monday, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:35 p.m. (et).
The probable pitchers for Sunday's game were Atlanta's Jair Jurrijens up against Pittsburgh's Zach Dukes. Monday's probables were Tim Hudson for the Braves and Phil Dumatrait for the Pirates.
<< Toronto, Cleveland to play doubleheader Monday after rainout
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's game between the Toronto Blue Jays
and the Cleveland Indians has been postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as a traditional doubleheader on Monday, as the clubs
will play twice to fini
<< Zambrano, Johnson scratched from Cubs/D-Backs game due to rain
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rainy conditions at Wrigley Field caused both
the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks to shelf their starting
pitchers, Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson, respectively, on Sunday.
Weather perm
<< Diamondbacks' Johnson scratched from start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Randy
Johnson was scratched from his scheduled start against the Chicago Cubs on
Sunday due to wet weather conditions.
Edgar Gonzalez was tabbed to start in Johnson's pl
<< Yankees-Tigers postponed due to heavy rain
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's scheduled series finale between the
New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers was postponed due to rain.
No make-up date for the game was announced.
Millwood sent to 15-day DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed starting
pitcher Kevin Millwood on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained
right groin.
Millwood left Saturday's 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics af
Latvia, Switzerland victorious at Worlds >>
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Herberts Vasiljevs tallied the go-
ahead goal late in the first period, as Latvia cruised to a 4-1 win over
Norway at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.
Lauris Darzins registered a goal a
Uggla slugs Marlins past Nats >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla hit a pair of solo homers,
including the game-winner in the eighth inning, as the streaking Florida
Marlins rallied for a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals, finishing off a
three-g
Rockies send struggling Redman to minors >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies sent scuffling pitcher
Mark Redman to the minor leagues on Sunday, calling up Greg Reynolds to start
their game against the San Diego Padres.
The 34-year-old left-hander, who is 2-3
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.
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.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football betting sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online 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 wagering needs.