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01/27/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to bounce back from a miserable showing their last time out tonight when they continue a five-game road trip against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace in Auburn Hills.
Atlanta seemed lost at times on Wednesday when it dropped a 105-83 decision to the San Antonio Spurs. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 20 points, while Josh Smith netted 13 on 6- of-17 shooting.
The Hawks had won six of seven coming in, but trailed by as many as 26 to the Spurs. THey also turned the ball over 17 times in the loss and slipped to 0-5 this season when scoring less than 90 points.
"They outplayed us," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said bluntly. "If you look at that stat sheet, they beat us in just about every category."
Detroit, meanwhile, also enters tonight's contest on a losing note after falling, 101-98, to the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Austin Daye had a team-high 28 points for Detroit, but was whistled for a traveling violation while attempting a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds.
Greg Monroe posted 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, though he also missed a critical basket late in regulation.
"We definitely gave a great effort tonight, everybody's intensity was really high, everybody was focused and we were all playing together," said Monroe. "It was a tough loss."
As well as they may have played against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, it was still the Pistons' 12th loss in 14 tries. However, head coach Lawrence Frank was pleased with his team's effort.
"I thought our guys showed great fight, spirit and resolve," Frank said. "You have to look at the fight for the whole game. If we can establish this as part of our DNA, we'll put ourselves in position to win a lot of games, but it can't be just (against) Miami."
The Hawks took three of their four meetings with the Pistons last season and have won five of seven and eight of the last 11 overall in this series. Atlanta, though, has dropped 10 of 12 in Detroit.
<< Tiger two behind Olesen in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods posted a three-
under 69 Friday to move within two strokes of the lead after two rounds of the
Abu Dhabi Championship.
Woods, who is playing this event for the first time, had f
<< Djokovic rallies past Murray to reach Aussie Open final
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic will play for a second
straight Australian Open title after rallying for a thrilling five-set
semifinal win over Andy Murray in a rematch of last year's final.
Djokovic blitzed Murray in
<< Despite defections, plenty of talent still on hand for Pro Bowl
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A select number of the NFL's best players will be making a
trip to Hawaii to participate in this Sunday's AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, though the
league's annual all-star game will be lacking some of its star power once again
due to a v
<< Kuznetsova-Zvonareva win Aussie doubles title
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva
bested Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci to win the Australian Open women's
doubles title on Friday.
The unseeded Russian duo of Kuznetsova and Zvonareva ea
Magic try to rebound against Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For three quarters last night it appeared the Orlando Magic
had erased all the memories of their worst shooting performance in franchise
history in a rematch with the Boston Celtics.
But a lousy final period sent the Magic
Improved Pacers try to pass another test in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers try to follow up their biggest win of
the season tonight when they head to Boston to face the Celtics at TD Garden.
Indiana picked up a big win over the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls
on Wednes
Thunder, Warriors collide in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Western Conference-leading Thunder will kick off a
three-game road trip tonight when they visit Oakland to take on the Golden
State Warriors.
The Thunder (15-3) won their third straight game and for the 11th
Blazers welcome Suns to Rip City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blazers haven't been much of a threat away from Rip
City this season but things have been far different when they are hitting the
hardwood in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland will shoot for its sixth straight win a
The 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.
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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