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07/08/2010 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittany Lang bogeyed her final hole Thursday to post a two-under 69 and take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the U.S. Women's Open Championship.
Lang is not only searching for her first major championship title, but also her first win on the LPGA Tour.
Amateur Kelli Shean led by herself for over nine holes, but three-putted for bogey on the par-five ninth, her last, at Oakmont Country Club to slip to minus-one.
Shean shares second place at one-under 70 with M.J. Hur, Amy Yang and 2008 U.S. Women's Open champion Inbee Park.
They were the only five players to break par in the first round.
Mhairi McKay and Sakura Yokomine are tied for sixth at even-par 71.
Among the top-10 players in the world, top-ranked Cristie Kerr, who won this title in 2007, and world No. 7 Song-Hee Kim are closest to the leaders at plus-one. They are tied for eighth with 12 other players.
Michelle Wie had the toughest day among the top-10 players in the world as she stumbled to a birdie-free, 11-over 82.
Defending champion Eun-Hee Ji posted a six-over 77 and is tied for 73rd.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
<< Former Kentucky, NBA center Turpin found dead
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former University of Kentucky product and NBA
center Mel Turpin was found dead of an apparent suicide at the age of 49.
The Herald-Leader reported on Thursday that police responded to a personal
injury r
<< Wizards get Hinrich from Bulls
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards have acquired guard
Kirk Hinrich, the draft rights to Kevin Seraphin and cash considerations from
the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Vladimir Veremeenko.
The deal was put together
<< Morneau, Young day-to-day for Twins
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twins All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau,
along with outfIelder Delmon Young, are listed as day-to-day due to injuries
suffered in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Morneau, who will appear in h
<< Johnson stays with Hawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have officially re-signed
unrestricted free agent guard Joe Johnson.
As per team team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. However, the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Arn
Chappell shoots 61 for Nationwide lead >>
Clarksburg, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Chappell fired an 11-under 61 on
Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.
Chappell's 61 matched the course record at Raven Golf Club and earned him a
two-shot lead over
Ainge: Forget LeBron, Celtics team to beat in East >>
Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge wasn't worried about The Decision.He's got his team back.``We're the Eastern Conference champions,'' Ainge said Thursday. ``And we think we're going to be better next year.''Ainge confirmed that the Celtics
LeBron James makes his pick: He's going to Miami >>
LeBron James has made his decision. He's going to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.James made his long-awaited announcement in a hastily arranged ESPN special Thursday night in Greenwich, Conn., and James wasted no time in making
Blue Jays homer five times, take series vs. Twins >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gonzalez drove in three runs and Brett
Cecil pitched seven strong innings, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the
Minnesota Twins, 8-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Cecil (8-5) allo
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.
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.
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