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03/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets continue their push toward the postseason without head coach George Karl tonight against a desperate Houston Rockets team.
The Nuggets have played without Karl, who is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to combat throat and neck cancer, for the third straight game on Saturday against Memphis as the coach continues treatment. The veteran mentor is still adjusting to the feeding tube that was inserted into his stomach during a surgical procedure last Monday.
Denver has won six in row and is 3-0 on its current trip but sits just one- half game ahead of Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the competitive Western Conference.
The Nuggets, who are being piloted by lead assistant Adrian Dantley on their trek, last swept a four-game road trip in April of 2005. Meanwhile, the team is aiming to sweep the season series against the Rockets tonight for the first time since the 1977-78 season.
J.R. Smith scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, as the Nuggets used a huge final period to defeat the Grizzlies, 125-108. Smith made 11-of-16 field goals, including a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc.
"I got it going, but the most important thing was that we got it going as a team," Smith said. "We got out in the open court, (and we got some easy shots)."
Carmelo Anthony donated 24 points and six rebounds, while Chauncey Billups ended with 22 points. Nene donated 13 for the Nuggets, who outscored Memphis, 40-23, in the fourth.
The Rockets dumped hapless New Jersey on Saturday when Luis Scola poured in a career-high 44 points on 20-of-25 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, as Houston got past the Nets, 116-108, at the Toyota Center.
Scola topped his previous career-high of 30 for the Rockets, who have won three of their last four games but are a distant 5 1/2 games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Kevin Martin chipped in with 20 and Aaron Brooks posted 18 and seven assists as Houston has now won eight straight against the Nets.
"It's a game obviously we really needed to get," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman. "People look at their (Nets) record and think it should be an easy win, but they have a very good center and a very good point guard. They seem to have a feel for how they want to play. I'm just glad to get this win."
<< Fading Hornets resume road trip vs. Clippers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fading New Orleans Hornets resume a five-game road trip
at Staples Center tonight hoping for their 13th straight win over the Los
Angeles Clippers.
The Hornets dropped the opener of their trek in Phoenix last night whe
<< Jazz return home to face hapless Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz hope a return to Salt Lake City against a
hapless Washington team will get them back on the winning track as the
postseason approaches.
The short-handed Jazz dropped the final two games of a four-game road tr
<< Celtics and Pistons clash in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics hope to bounce back from a tough loss in
Cleveland on Sunday when they welcome Eastern Conference also-ran Detroit to
Beantown.
In a possible playoff preview the C's came up short against the Cavs when
<< Sixers, Knicks meet in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third place in the Atlantic Division is on the line tonight
in Philadelphia.
Of course, third place doesn't mean all that much if you are entering the
contest at 23-43 like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
Ne
Colts sign OT Terry >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have agreed to
terms with offensive tackle Adam Terry, who had spent his first five NFL
seasons with Baltimore.
Terry missed the entire 2009 campaign because of an in
Roy Williams re-signs with Cincinnati >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals made it official on
Monday and re-signed safety Roy Williams.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed for Williams, who had become an
unrestricted free agent after an injury-s
Charlotte fires men's hoops coach >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte has fired men's basketball coach
Bobby Lutz after a 12-year stint.
Charlotte collapsed at the end of the season, losing seven of its last eight
games, including a 59-56 setback against Massachu
Huddlestone inks new Spurs deal >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Huddlestone has put pen to paper on a
new long-term contract with Tottenham.
The 23-year-old midfielder has agreed to terms on a new deal which will keep
him at White Hart Lane until the summer of 2
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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