Vince Young to avoid discipline by NFL
Football Betting Lines
07/29/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young will reportedly escape punishment by the NFL for his part in a fight at a Dallas strip club last month.
The Tennessean cited unnamed sources ahead of the league's official announcement, which is expected to be made as early as today.
Young received an assault citation for his involvement in a scuffle that was caught on video surveillance showing him fighting with several people in a small room at Club Onyx on June 13.
The day after the incident, the team held its minicamp, where Young issued a public apology.
"I apologized to my teammates and my coaching staff as well as the organization. They respect me for doing that. They understand how it is out there with the off-the-field stuff. That's something that I regret that I ever did, but at the same time I'm moving on from that," Young said in June. "I pray to God that (Commissioner) Roger Goodell doesn't come down on me."
It was up for debate whether Young would garner punishment under the league's personal conduct policy. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended six games by Goodell this offseason, even though the player did not face criminal charges in an alleged sexual assault.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A body riddled with bullets was found in Southeast Memphis Wednesday afternoon in a thickly wooded area near FedEx's world headquarters. It was just another sad ending in a city that has become notorious f
<< Nationals decide to put Strasburg on DL
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have decided to
put rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness
in his shoulder.
Strasburg is expected to rest for the next 3-to-4 days and have
<< Southern Illinois adds six players, two from FBS
Carbondale, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southern Illinois football team has added
six players to its 2010 roster.
Highlighting the group are Football Bowl Subdivision transfers Carl Harris, a
wide receiver from Rutgers, and Myron Walker, a nos
<< Aberdeen signs midfielder Hartley
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aberdeen signed Scotland midfielder Paul
Hartley on Thursday.
Hartley, who has played 25 times for Scotland, was named Aberdeen's captain.
He last played for Bristol City, and played at Celtic from 200
<< A-Rod tries once again for 600th home run in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Alex Rodriguez still on the verge of reaching one of
baseball's most exclusive milestones, the New York Yankees will wrap up a
four-game series with the Cleveland Indians tonight at Progressive Field.
Rodriguez remain
Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team Canada's quest for gold at the World Junior Baseball Championship nearly took a detour down a dangerous road. Luckily for them, Dalton Pompey knows his way around a diamond. Pompey came off the b
Rangers place Kinsler on DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed All-Star second
baseman Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin
among several roster moves made by the club on Thursday.
The move is retroactive to
Thrashers re-sign Ladd >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers agreed to terms with
forward Andrew Ladd on Thursday.
Terms of the contract were not announced, per team policy.
The 24-year-old winger came to Atlanta from the reigning Stanley Cu
AP source: Oswalt says OK for trade to Phillies >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -A person with knowledge of the deal says Houston ace Roy Oswalt has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a swap to the Philadelphia Phillies.The person aware of the trade told The Associated Press that Oswalt must first
2010 NFL Training Camp Dates >>
BALTIMORE RAVENS - McDaniel College, Westminster, Md., rookies: July 26/veterans: July 28.BUFFALO BILLS - St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, N.Y., both July 29.CINCINNATI BENGALS - Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., both July 28.CLEVELAND BROWNS
Sportsbooks to bet on football
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.