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01/27/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobcats coach Paul Silas wasn't on the court Friday night to see his team lose a season-high seventh straight game.
Ejected during a timeout, he missed the last 2 1/2 quarters of another bleak loss.
Lou Williams scored 17 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 and the Philadelphia 76ers easily handled Charlotte, 89-72, leading wire-to-wire and by as many as 30 points.
Silas was ejected as the game got out of hand, tossed after receiving two technical fouls during a timeout in the second quarter while his team trailed by 21.
The Bobcats, who are an NBA-worst 3-17, continue to deal not only with the frustration of losing, but also with injuries to some of their best players.
Gerald Henderson returned Friday from a one-game absence because of a bruised lower back, scoring seven, but D.J. Augustin missed his third straight game with a toe injury and D.J. White sat with a left knee contusion.
Shorthanded, the Bobcats lost their fourth straight game by at least 10 points after staying within single digits in their previous three losses. They also had a six-game losing streak earlier in the season,
The Atlantic division-leading Sixers, meanwhile, avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Coming off an overtime loss to New Jersey on Wednesday, they opened with a 14-3 run sparked by Jodie Meeks' three-pointer and never looked back. Holiday scored the last seven points of the burst, including a three to cap it.
Meeks finished with 14 points for Philadelphia and Thaddeus Young had 10, while rookie Kemba Walker scored 14 to lead the Bobcats.
The Sixers held Charlotte to 21.1 percent shooting in the first quarter and had a 23-10 lead at the buzzer.
They continued to pour it on, scoring a season-high 36 points in the second quarter. Silas was ejected after the Bobcats took a timeout while trailing 46-25.
Meeks hit both technical free throws, ending an 18-4 run that pushed the lead from nine points to 23 with 4:48 remaining in the first half.
The Sixers led 59-37 at the break, shooting 56.1 percent in the first half, and carried a 26-point lead into the fourth quarter. They went ahead by as many as 30.
Game Notes
The home team has won the last five games in this series, and 19 of the last 22...The Bobcats have lost four of five and nine of their last 11 games at Philadelphia...The Sixers signed free-agent veteran center Francisco Elson earlier Friday to provide some depth at the position with Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and Nikola Vucevic (quad) missing time because of injuries. They are 2-1 on a seven-game homestand...The Bobcats return home to play Washington on Saturday.
<< Blackhawks acquire Morrison from Flames
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks gained a veteran center
on Friday by acquiring Brendan Morrison from the Calgary Flames in exchange
for defenseman Brian Connelly.
The 36-year-old Morrison had spent the past 1 1/2 s
<< Rockets G Martin out against Washington
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets leading scorer Kevin Martin
has been ruled out of Friday's game against the Washington Wizards with
plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
In 18 games so far this season, Martin is ave
<< Bobcats coach Silas ejected from game
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats head coach Paul Silas
was ejected from Friday night's game against Philadelphia.
Silas received an automatic ejection after receiving two technical fouls with
4:48 remaining in the se
<< Stanley alone in front at Farmers Insurance Open
La Jolla, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Stanley posted a four-under 68 Friday to
take sole possession of the lead after the second round of the Farmers
Insurance Open.
Stanley, a first-round co-leader, finished 36 holes at 14-under 130
USA tops Costa Rica to seal Olympic berth >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. women's national team punched its
ticket for the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica
in the semifinals of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying.
After outscoring its three oppone
Hornets beat Magic to snap 9-game skid >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Landry netted a team-high 17 points
and the New Orleans Hornets rolled over the Orlando Magic, 93-67, on Friday to
snap a nine-game losing streak.
Marco Belinelli had 15 points, Jason Smith scored 1
Rose boosts Bulls over Bucks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose was in MVP form on Friday, as he
poured in a season-high 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-100 win
over the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center.
Carlos Boozer contributed 20 points and
Wade returns as Heat down Knicks >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade sparkled in his return to the lineup,
scoring 28 points, and the Heat withstood a bevy of three-pointers from New
York to earn a 99-89 victory over the short-handed Knicks.
LeBron James totaled 31
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 San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
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