Portland signs G Diener

Basketball Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers signed guard Travis Diener on Wednesday, two days after he was waived by the Indiana Pacers.

Over five seasons in the NBA, which has included stints with Orlando and Indiana, he has averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 174 games.

Sothevys Basketball Betting News

<< Sabres acquire F Torres from Columbus
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres made a move before the trade deadline on Wednesday by acquiring left wing Raffi Torres from the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick. Torres h

<< Bulls C Noah out three weeks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is expected to be sidelined for the next three weeks due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the team announced on Wednesday. The injury has kept Noah in and out of

<< Ducks and Flames swap backup goaltenders
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames for goaltender Vesa Toskala. McElhinney, 26, has served as Miikka Kiprusoff's backup over his three seasons in the league and

<< Ducks and Oilers swap backup goaltenders
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney from the Edmonton Oilers for goaltender Vesa Toskala. McElhinney, 26, has served as Miikka Kiprusoff's backup over his three seasons in the league and

<< U.S. wins Algarve Cup final over Germany
Faro, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States women's national soccer team topped Germany 3-2 in the Algarve Cup final on Wednesday in Portugal. Lauren Cheney, who scored two goals in the American's previous Algarve Cup match v

Gotham Stakes attracts 10 three-year-olds >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of 10 Kentucky Derby hopefuls has been entered for Saturday's $250,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. The 1 1/16- mile Gotham is the final local prep before the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3

Ducks receive G MacDonald from Leafs >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2011 seventh-round draft pick. MacDonald has spent most of the 2009-10 campaign with the Toronto Mar

Oilers, Ducks swap defensemen >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers acquired defenseman Ryan Whitney from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky on Wednesday. In his first full season with the Ducks, Whitney posted four goals

Caps re-acquire D Jurcina >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals made another depth move on Wednesday, re-acquiring defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2010 conditional draft pick. Jurcina, who was ship

Thrashers acquire F MacArthur from Sabres >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Clarke MacArthur from the Buffalo Sabres for third and fourth-round picks in the 2010 draft on Wednesday. MacArthur, a third-round selection by Buffalo in th

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

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.