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03/11/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that the club has renewed its affiliate agreement with Portland of the American Hockey League on a long-term extension.
"Greater Portland has embraced a group of world-class players, coaches and team staff who have been and continue to be outstanding professionals and people both on and off the ice," said Pirates CEO Brian Petrovek. "We're looking forward to our future together with high hopes and expectations as we continue to develop future Buffalo Sabres and compete for Calder Cup championships."
Portland, nicknamed the Pirates, is currently in the second year of its original deal with the Sabres. Buffalo's primary minor-league farm club had been located in nearby Rochester from 1979 until the end of the 2007-08 season.
The Pirates had previously served as the AHL affiliate for the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks.
<< Liverpool drops first leg at Lille
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eden Hazard scored off a free kick with just
five minutes remaining and Lille edged Liverpool 1-0 on Thursday in the first
leg of their Europa League Round of 16 series at Lille Metropole.
Hazard curled a 2
<< Marquette trumps 'Nova to reach Big East semis
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Johnson-Odom struck for 24 points,
thanks to 5-of-7 makes from beyond the arc, as Marquette upended 10th-ranked
Villanova, 80-76, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.
Lazar Hayward p
<< Cardinals re-sign OL Bridges
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals re-signed guard/tackle
Jeremy Bridges to a three-year contract on Thursday.
Bridges signed a one-year deal with Arizona prior to last season and played in
all 16 games with the club, in
<< LeBron likely to return on Friday
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James will likely return to the court
when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
James missed a loss to the Bucks last Saturday and a win over the Spurs on
Monday in an
Volunteers vault past LSU into SEC quarterfinals >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wayne Chism had 17 points and 10 rebounds as
15th-ranked Tennessee downed LSU, 59-49, in the first round of the SEC
Tournament.
Bobby Maze had 14 points and J.P. Prince added 11 points for the Vol
New Mexico wins 15th straight, advances in MWC tourney >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darington Hobson erupted for 28 points and 15
rebounds, carrying No. 8 New Mexico to a hard-fought 75-69 victory over Air
Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Dairese Gar
Bills re-sign TE Klopfenstein >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills re-signed tight end Joe
Klopfenstein on Thursday.
The Bills signed Klopfenstein two different times last season, and he played
in only one game, the season finale, making one catch for
Western Athletic Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tai Wesley, one of three players to score 18
points for Utah State, collected 10 rebounds as the Aggies defeated Boise
State, 84-60, in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference
Tournam
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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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