10/06/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer won the elite Samsung World Championship on Sunday and jumped two places to No. 3 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
The top two remained the same with Lorena Ochoa followed by Annika Sorenstam. Yani Tseng and Suzann Pettersen slipped one spot apiece to fourth and fifth with Creamer's move.
Cristie Kerr and Ji-Yai Shin held steady in sixth and seventh. Helen Alfredsson and Karrie Webb flip-flopped places with Alfredsson up to eighth.
Seon-Hwa Lee remained No. 10 and was again followed by Momoko Ueda. Maria Hjorth moved up one to 12th, knocking Inbee Park to 13th.
Yuri Fudoh inched up one to 14, bumping Jeong Jang down to 15. Eun-Hee Ji and Angela Park were 16 and 17 again this week.
Angela Stanford moved up one to 18 as Jee Young Lee slipped one to 19th. Hee- Won Han was 20th again this week.
<< Robben out two weeks for Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben looks set for
a two-week spell on the sidelines after limping out of Sunday's 2-2 draw with
Espanyol due to a hamstring problem.
The Netherlands international only came on at
<< Santa Cruz to miss out for Paraguay
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa
Cruz will miss Paraguay's World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Peru after
picking up a hamstring injury in Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Santa
<< Skrtel set for long injury absence
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is set
for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after a scan confirmed he suffered
posterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee during Sunday's 3-2
victory
<< Hamlin released from hospital
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin was
released from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Monday morning
after being held overnight for observation.
While holding the lead midway through S
Beckenbauer backs Klinsmann for turnaround >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bewildered Bayern Munich president Franz
Beckenbauer believes Jurgen Klinsmann is the right man to transform the club's
fortunes.
Bayern could only draw 3-3 against Bochum on Saturday and are now 11th i
This Week in Golf - October 9th through October 12th >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CHAMPIONS TOUR - CONSTELLATION ENERGY
SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Baltimore Country Club (East Course) Timonium,
Maryland - Last year, Loren Roberts fired three rounds of three-under 67 to go
with a
New York safety Smith appealing suspension for hit on Boldin >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets safety Eric Smith has
appealed his one game suspension and $50,000 fine that the NFL levied on him
for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin
in the
Tampa acquires D Krajicek from Vancouver >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman
Lukas Krajicek and forward Juraj Simek from the Vancouver Canucks for
defenseman Shane O'Brien and forward Michel Ouellet on Monday.
The 25-year-old Kr
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 sportsbook 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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