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03/07/2010 - Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic wound up with a 4-1 victory over host Belgium in a first-round Davis Cup tie in Bree.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Sunday, Steve Darcis got Belgium on the scoreboard with a 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4 victory over Jan Hajek, and Lukas Dlouhy capped the tie for the Czechs by overcoming Christophe Rochus 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
The Czechs will meet the Chile-Israel victor in the quarterfinals in July.
On Saturday in Bree, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek blew past a Belgian doubles tandem of Darcis and Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7-0), 6-0, 6-3 on the indoor hardcourt at Expodroom, clinching the victory for the Czechs.
On Friday, Berdych blitzed Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 and Stepanek handled Xavier Malisse 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the opening singles.
The Czech Republic, last year's Davis Cup runner-up to mighty Spain, is captained by Jaroslav Navratil, while Belgium was guided by Reginald Willems.
The Czechs, who won the Davis Cup as Czechoslovakia behind the great Ivan Lendl 30 years ago, are now 8-3 all-time against the Belgians.
<< Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas
Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their
first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.
The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalban
<< Twins lock up P Blackburn, sign 20 others
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins on Sunday signed
pitcher Nick Blackburn to a four-year, $14 million contract. The deal also
includes a club option for the 2014 season worth $8 million.
Blackburn started 33
<< Boonchu Ruangkit claims European Seniors event
Brunei (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boonchu Ruangkit defeated Frankie Minoza in a
playoff Sunday to claim the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters.
Ruangkit and Minoza closed with five-under 66s to finish at 14-under-par 199.
Ruangkit won with a pa
<< Croatia rips Ecuador 5-0 in Davis Cup first-rounder
Varazdin, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia put the finishing touches Sunday
on a 5-0 sweep of visiting Ecuador in a best-of-five Davis Cup first-round
matchup.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Day 3, Antonio Veic vaulted past Julio-C
Nurnberg hands Leverkusen first loss >>
Nurnberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored twice in
the closing minutes of the first half, Mikael Tavares added a goal 10 minutes
after the break, and Nurnberg held on to hand Bayer Leverkusen its first loss
of the
Keane's double leads Celtic over Falkirk >>
Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Keane scored a goal in each half
and Celtic defeated Falkirk 2-0 on Sunday at Falkirk Stadium for its first win
over the struggling club in three matches this season.
Celtic settled for draws in
Djokovic propels Serbia past U.S. in Davis Cup >>
Belgrade, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic outlasted big John Isner in
five sets on Sunday to lift Serbia past the United States and into the 2010
Davis Cup quarterfinals.
The Serbs have an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five
Pavlyuchenkova sets up Monterrey final showdown with Hantuchova >>
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova got past Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in Sunday's semifinal at
the $220,000 Monterrey Open. Pavlyuchenkova will face second-seeded Slovakian
Daniela Hantu
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.
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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