12/04/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly acquired shortstop Khalil Greene from the San Diego Padres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two minor league relievers will be heading the other way in the deal.
One year removed from belting 27 home runs, Greene's production dropped drastically last season, as he hit just .213 with 10 homers, while striking out 100 times in 105 games. He also managed only 27 extra-base-hits and 35 RBI after producing 74 extra-base hits and 97 RBI in 2007.
However, he missed the last two months of the season with a fractured left hand.
Greene, who can become a free agent after the 2009 campaign, will become the Cardinals fourth starting shortstop in the last six seasons, following Edgar Renteria, David Eckstein and Cesar Izturis, who started there last season.
The 29-year-old Greene holds a .248 batting average over his six-year career. He has 84 home runs and 328 RBI in 659 games, all with San Diego.
<< Hansbrough leads No. 1 UNC in rout of Michigan State
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough scored 25 points and pulled
down 11 rebounds to pace top-ranked North Carolina to a 98-63 blowout of No.
13 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
By the way the Tar Heels (8-0) are
<< Yao fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles
Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei
<< Villanueva leads Bucks over Bulls
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Villanueva scored 23 points and
hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 97-90 victory over the
Chicago Bulls.
Richard Jefferson added 21 points for the Bucks, who snapped a s
<< Ming fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles
Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei
Suns attempt to end skid in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will try to stop a season-high three-game
losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at
American Airlines Center.
The Suns dropped their third in a row after Wednesday's
Sun Devils set to tame Tigers in Tempe >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils have an
outstanding chance to add another victory to their non-conference record as
they host the Jackson State Tigers this evening in Tempe.
Jackson State owns a 1-6 over
Top-25 foes clash in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what promises to be an outstanding battle of
non-conference heavyweights, the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns play host to
the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins this evening in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
UCLA ope
UConn battle Buffalo in upstate New York >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Connecticut Huskies are set
to play their first true road game of the season tonight, as the Buffalo Bulls
play the role of host team in this non-conference clash.
UConn has opened the season
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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