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Braves aim for sweep of BrewersBaseball Betting Lines05/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves shoot for their second sweep of the season when they wrap up a nine-game road trip Wednesday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. The Braves swept Houston in three games from April 30-May 2 at Turner Field and now have their sights set on polishing off the Brewers in three games. They won Monday's series opener in Brew City by an 8-2 score and are coming off last night's 11-3 pounding thanks to a 16-hit attack highlighted by solo home runs from Troy Glaus and Brooks Conrad. Glaus and Eric Hinske both finished with two hits and three RBI, while rookie sensation Jason Heyward and Brian McCann had two hits, an RBI and three runs scored apiece. Atlanta starter Tim Hudson wasn't sharp, but improved to 3-1 with six innings of one-run ball. He walked six and struck out one batter. "We played great defense behind him," Braves manager Bobby Cox said about Hudson. "He wasn't super-sharp, but he got us through six and they only hit a couple of balls hard off of him." The Braves have won seven of 11 games and are 4-4 on the trek. They will kick off a seven-game homestand Friday against the Diamondbacks, Mets and Reds. Since winning his first three starts of the season, Braves hurler Derek Lowe has plummeted back to earth with a 1-3 mark and a 7.40 earned run average over his previous four trips to the mound. He'll make his eighth start of 2010 this afternoon. Lowe is coming off his worst outing of the season, a 7-0 loss at Philadelphia in which he permitted seven runs and 11 hits in five innings. Lowe's ERA rose from 5.18 to 6.16 after his outing in south Philly. In nine career games (7 starts) against Milwaukee, Lowe is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Milwaukee entered this series off a three-game sweep of Arizona, but the tables have turned on the NL Central inhabitants. It will try to avoid being swept for the second time this season and lost all three matchups with the Chicago Cubs from April 23-25. Brewers starter Dave Bush dropped to 1-3 on the year and allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings last night. Mitch Stetter permitted three runs in relief and Carlos Villanueva surrendered four for Milwaukee, which got two hits and an RBI from both Casey McGehee and Alcides Escobar. Corey Hart knocked in a run in defeat. "It wasn't a great effort, but for the most part I was pleased with where I put the ball," Bush said on Milwaukee's website. "There's nothing I regret except the final result." The Brewers will also host Philadelphia for three games on the residency. Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo will try to win his fifth straight start when he takes the hill Wednesday. He opened the season 0-2 with a 5.50 earned run average in his first three starts, but has rebounded in a big way. Gallardo has won his last four starts and totes a 1.17 ERA over that stretch. He threw five innings of two-run ball in a 3-2 win at Arizona the previous time out on Friday. He also struck out 10 batters and owns 21 K's over the last two outings. Gallardo, who allowed just one run in seven innings of a 2-1 triumph at San Diego on May 1 and is 4-2 in seven total outings in 2010, will try to stay unbeaten in his career against the Braves. The right-hander is 2-0 with a microscopic 0.81 ERA in three career starts against this afternoon's opponent. Atlanta and Milwaukee split six matchups a year ago, but the Braves have won five of the past six meetings in the series.
<< Kuroda aims to lead Dodgers to sweep of Diamondbacks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hiroki Kuroda hopes to get in on the action when the Los Angeles Dodgers shoot for a three-game sweep of the NL West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks this evening at Chase Field. Los Angeles starters Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billin
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Padres try to extend win streak over Giants >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have lost just one series since mid- April and will shoot for their fifth straight win over the San Francisco Giants tonight in the continuation of a three-game series at AT&T Park. San Diego is 6-
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Astros continue series with rival Cards at Busch >>
Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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 Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super BowlThe AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East. Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around. The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs. |
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