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03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to get back on track tonight when they visit the New York Islanders for an interconference clash at Nassau Coliseum.
The Blues pushed their winning streak to a season-high five games by posting consecutive victories to begin their post-Olympic schedule. However, St. Louis had its momentum halted in a big way Saturday, dropping a 7-3 road decision against Colorado.
St. Louis is still battling to stay in the playoff race. The Blues are currently six points out of the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference.
Chris Stewart netted the first hat trick of his career and added an assist as to lead the Avalanche to Saturday's rout.
Alexander Steen had two goals and David Perron added a marker for the Blues. Chris Mason started in net, but was pulled in the second period for giving up four goals on 15 shots. Ty Conklin played the rest of the game and gave up two goals on 17 shots.
"We were just a step behind tonight," said Steen. "Skating is the biggest part of the game cause you can't clutch and grab and hold anymore and they were just a step ahead of us all night."
St. Louis, which has a solid 18-10-4 mark as the visitor this year, is playing the fourth test of a six-game road trip tonight.
Meanwhile, the Islanders have lost three straight games and are just 3-12-0 in their last 15 contests. The swoon has dropped New York to 14th place out of 15 teams in the East.
New York was dealt a 3-2 loss Tuesday in Philadelphia, marking the 15th straight victory for the Flyers against the Isles -- the longest active stretch of victories by one team over any single opponent in the league.
The Isles led 2-0 in the second period, but Philadelphia rallied to keep its streak alive.
Rookie John Tavares and Kyle Okposo scored for the Islanders, while Dwayne Roloson allowed three goals on 35 shots in the loss.
"I thought we played well," said Roloson. "We did the things we needed to do to win the hockey game. Unfortunately, they capitalized on a couple power plays -- that's just the way things have been bouncing for us."
Tonight's test marks the first of three straight on home ice for the Isles, who are 17-13-2 as the host this year. They will also host New Jersey and Toronto during the residency.
The Blues posted a 4-1 home win over the Isles on November 21 and have won two of three and four of the last six meetings between the clubs. St. Louis is 4-2 with a tie in its last seven trips to Long Island.
<< Lightning hope to get on track versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will aim for just their second win
in eight games when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada
Centre.
The Lightning are only five points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern
Conf
<< Blazers hit the road to Golden State
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to keep their playoff aspirations alive, the
Portland Trail Blazers will hit the road for back-to-back games starting with
tonight's showdown against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena.
Portland is e
<< Golf Tidbits: Where has Stuart Appleby's game gone?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the top-ranked Australian in the
world, Stuart Appleby has plummeted in the world rankings as his winless
streak stretches into its fourth season.
Appleby owns eight PGA Tour titles, including three s
<< Habs hope to stay hot against Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens continue their push for a postseason
berth when the surging club continues its current homestand with tonight's
bout against the Edmonton Oilers from the Bell Centre.
Montreal has won its last three
Red Wings, Wild meet for key battle in Motown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams fighting for a playoff berth in the Western
Conference get together tonight at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, where the
hometown Red Wings take on the Minnesota Wild in a key late-season showdown.
The reigning
Penguins aim for fifth straight win in clash with hosting 'Canes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to stay perfect since
returning from the Olympic break when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes
tonight at RBC Center.
The Penguins are 4-0 since the league came back from the Winter Games.
Howard, Magic put streak on line vs. Bulls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard and the surging Orlando Magic shoot for
their seventh straight win tonight in the conclusion of a three-game
homestand versus the Chicago Bulls at Amway Arena.
Orlando is riding a six-game
Senators resume western swing with stop in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just picked up their first win since the Winter
Olympics break, the Ottawa Senators will now try to pick up their first
victory in Calgary since 2003 when they visit the Flames tonight at Pengrowth
Saddledome.
The
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.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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