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08/18/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre finished 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and knocked in three runs, and Kevin Jepsen pegged pinch-hitter Daniel Nava with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to force in the go-ahead tally, as Boston downed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 7-5, in the middle test of a three-game set at Fenway Park.
Victor Martinez added three hits, an RBI and scored twice, while Bill Hall also homered for the Red Sox, who recorded their ninth straight win over the Halos this season and have taken 11 of the last 12 meetings.
John Lackey (11-7) beat his old club for the third time in 2010, allowing 10 hits and five runs with five strikeouts over seven innings.
Jonathan Papelbon turned in a scoreless ninth to post his 30th save and became the first pitcher in baseball history to record at least 30 saves in each of his first five full seasons.
Alberto Callaspo slugged a three-run shot and Mike Napoli hit a solo homer for the Angels, who have dropped four of their last five overall.
Jepsen (2-3) took the loss and the blown save as David Ortiz scored the go- ahead run in the seventh inning. Jepsen was charged with two runs on two hits with two walks over one inning.
Boston forged ahead with a two-run seventh inning against Jepsen. Martinez singled and David Ortiz followed with a double to left-center, then two batters later Mike Lowell walked to load the bases. Jepsen then bounced a pitch in front of the plate that escaped to the backstop with pinch-hitter J.D. Drew at bat, which brought in Martinez with the tying run.
Drew was given a free pass before Nava was plunked to plate Ortiz for a 6-5 Red Sox edge.
Nava backed up his go-ahead RBI by making a diving catch to retire Maicer Izturis -- helping Daniel Bard close out a scoreless eighth.
In the home half, Marco Scutaro doubled and later scored on a Martinez base hit for a two-run lead.
Papelbon then closed out the game by fanning all three Angels he faced.
The Sox picked up a run in the first as Dustin Pedroia walked with one out, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error and later came in on a Beltre base hit.
Napoli reached the Green Monster seats to start the third, and Howie Kendrick added an RBI single in the fourth, but Hall led off the home fourth with a long homer to left.
The Angels broke through in the fifth with two outs, as Bobby Abreu and Reggie Willits singled ahead of Callaspo's three-run homer just over the low wall in right.
However, Beltre ripped a two-run shot just to the left of dead center to make it 5-4 in the home half.
Game Notes
Lackey picked up just his second win in his last nine starts...Prior to the game, the Red Sox announced that outfielder Mike Cameron, who has been sidelined for most of the season with an abdominal problem, will have season-ending surgery some time in the next two weeks...In addition, Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has a cracked posterior rib, suffered last Friday in Texas, and has been advised by doctors, including Dr. Lewis Yocum, to remain inactive for the next 4-to-6 weeks.
<< Braves beat Nats on Heyward single in ninth
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Heyward's line drive base hit up the
middle plated Rick Ankiel with the game-winning run in the ninth, giving the
Atlanta Braves a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals.
In Atlanta's
<< Uggla, Johnson get Marlins past reeling Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla homered in support of Josh
Johnson, who worked eight effective innings to lead Florida past Pittsburgh,
3-2, in the third of four meetings at PNC Park.
Johnson (11-5) bounced back from
<< Tuiasosopo keys Mariners over O's for second straight night
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo clubbed
a three-run homer and made a spectacular diving catch to preserve the lead in
the eighth inning, as Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, in the rubber
match o
<< Rollins keeps Phils rolling vs. Giants
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Rollins' three-run homer capped a
four-run fourth inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies widened the gap in the
NL Wild Card race with an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Rollins fell a d
Guadalajara falls to Inter to lose Copa Lib title >>
Porto Alegre, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazilian club Internacional hung on
to take the Copa Libertadores title, 5-3, on aggregate from Mexican club
Guadalajara after a 3-2 victory in the second leg on Wednesday night.
The result ca
Internacional wins Copa Libertadores title >>
Porto Alegre, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazilian club Internacional hung on
to take the Copa Libertadores title, 5-3, on aggregate from Mexican club
Guadalajara after a 3-2 victory in the second leg on Wednesday night.
The result ca
Last to first: Busch wins another truck race at Bristol >>
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite having to start from the rear of the
field, Kyle Busch easily claimed his third consecutive Camping World Truck
Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.
Busch won the pole for O'Reill
Wright departs Wednesday's game >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets third baseman David Wright
left Wednesday's game in Houston in the top of the 12th inning with an
undisclosed injury.
Wright singled with two outs and was limping noticeably upon arriving at f
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.
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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