New England Patroits

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07/20/2012 - Released wide receiver Matt Roark.

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<< New Orleans Saints 2012 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 24th SITE: Saints Training Facility, Metairie, LA CAMP OBJECTIVES: The Saints will likely be eager to hit the practice fields once again after experiencing one of the most tumultuous offseasons any

<< What they said at The Open Championship - Second Round
Lytham St. Annes, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heading into this week's event, Brandt Snedeker had never made the cut in three appearances at The Open Championship. He can cross that off his list, and more. Snedeker matched Nick Faldo's 36-

<< The Open Championship Second Round News & Notes
Lytham St. Annes, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no one, no one, in the field this week that can elicit a crowd reaction the way 62-year-old Tom Watson can. Not Tiger Woods. Not Phil Mickelson. Not Rory McIlroy, nor any local son of En

<< Revs invade Livestrong to meet Sporting
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution will try to bring an end to its two-game losing streak when the club hits the road to take on Sporting Kansas City at Livestrong Sporting Park on Saturday. The Revs have su

<< Mets trade INF Quintanilla to O's
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have traded infielder Omar Quintanilla to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for cash considerations. The 30-year-old Quintanilla batted .257 with a home run and four RBI in 29 games wi

Mudingayi joins Inter on loan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan announced on Friday that the club has signed midfielder Gaby Mudingayi on a season-long loan deal from Bologna. Inter will have the option to make the move permanent at the end of the upcom

Celtics get Courtney Lee in 3-team deal >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics acquired guard Courtney Lee from the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade Friday as part of a three-team deal. In return the Rockets received a second-round draft pick in 2013 along wit

Pacific Ocean wins James Marvin at Saratoga >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pacific Ocean, ridden by Joel Rosario, took the lead out of the gate and went on to win Friday's $100,000 James Marvin Stakes on opening day of the 2012 summer season at historic Saratoga Race Co

Liu to face Shim in U.S. Junior final >>
Stratham, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Liu and Andy Hyeon Bo Shim will face each other for the title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, after both advanced through the quarterfinals and semifinals Friday. Liu, one of three strok

Chivas, L.A. square off in Super Clasico >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy will attempt to reverse their Super Clasico fortunes on Saturday when they square off against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Los Angeles has dominated the Super Clasico since Ch

Sportsbooks to bet on football

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.