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06/03/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unlikely standout Kyle Lohse can get a second 2008 victory over Washington tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals head to Nationals Park to open a three-game series with the homestanding Nationals.
Lohse, a three-game winner in 2006 who then went 9-12 with two teams last season, improved to 5-2 this year with a 3-2 defeat of the Houston Astros on May 29. In the win, Lohse allowed five hits and a run over six innings and ran his unbeaten streak to four starts.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound right-hander met the Nationals in his second start of the season on April 6 and picked up his first win, allowing just four hits in seven innings of St. Louis' 3-0 victory at Busch Stadium.
Lifetime against the Nationals, he is 1-1 in seven appearances - five starts - with a 5.76 earned run average in 29 2/3 innings.
For Washington, veteran lefty Odalis Perez can make it three wins in his last four decisions. The 6-foot, 212-pounder, who turns 31 next week, defeated the San Diego Padres on May 28, allowing six hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings of Washington's 6-4 win.
Perez is 3-5 in 12 career meetings with the Cardinals - nine starts - and has posted an 8.87 ERA in 47 2/3 innings.
On Monday in St. Louis, Adam Wainwright was well on his way to another dominant start, but Pittsburgh scored four runs in the seventh and added the game-winning tally on Jason Bay's RBI single in the eighth to post a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals in the finale of a four-game series.
Wainwright's (5-3) demise was the story of a game that went smoothly for six frames.
Then came the seventh inning, where Pirates manager John Russell's pinch- hitting choice changed the game's dynamic. Bay's one-out double put an abrupt end to Wainwright's groove, and Xavier Nady and Jose Bautista each walked -- the only two surrendered by Wainwright over eight innings.
Russell called on veteran Jason Michaels to hit for Raul Chavez, a catcher batting just .217 on the season and 0-for-2 in Monday's contest.
Michaels wasted little time by smoking the first pitch into the left-center field bullpen for his first career grand slam and Pittsburgh's first pinch-hit grand slam since 2003.
That instantly tied the game, and in the eighth, Bay found real estate in right field for a single, scoring Nate McLouth with the go-ahead run after McLouth singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt earlier in the frame.
On Sunday in Arizona, Dan Haren threw seven spectacular innings as the Diamondbacks beat the Nationals, 5-0, to take the rubber match of a three-game series.
Jesus Flores had a double, which was the lone extra-base hit for the Nats, who have dropped five of their last seven. Dmitri Young walked twice in defeat.
Washington starter Shawn Hill (0-2) was touched for five runs on seven hits in just four frames. Brian Sanches and Charlie Manning threw two innings each, and gave up a total of one hit.
St. Louis swept a three-game series from the Nats earlier in the season.
<< Big Brown has final Belmont Stakes workout
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big
Brown had his only official workout Tuesday morning for Saturday's Belmont
Stakes. The leading three-year-old worked five furlongs on the Belmont Park
track i
<< NHL's Longest Stanley Cup Finals
Longest Stanley Cup finals that have gone past two overtimes, with date, score, round, time of overtime and game-winning goal:May 15, 1990 - Edmonton 3, Boston 2, final, 55:13, Petr Klima.June 19, 1999 - Dallas 2, Buffalo 1, Stanley Cup winner, 54:5
<< 2008 Playoff Overtime Goals
June 2 - Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3, 3OT; Petr Sykora, 9:57.Conference SemifinalsMay 4 - Dallas 2, San Jose 1, 4OT; Brenden Morrow, 9:03.May 4 - Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, OT; Marian Hossa, 7:10.May 2 - San Jose 3, Dallas 2; OT; Joe Pavelski, 1:05.A
<< Blake has seven RBIs in Indians' 13-9 win at Texas
Casey Blake had a week's worth of production in just three at-bats.Blake homered twice and matched a career high with seven RBIs Monday night to help lead the Cleveland Indians to a 13-9 victory over the Texas Rangers.Although Blake's power surge he
Astros haven't been able to stop the bleeding >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros are finding out the hard way just how
quickly fortunes can change.
A week ago, they sat at seven games above .500, and were just 1 1/2 games back
of the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs. Sinc
Marlins hope to get road trip on track in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins are not having the type of road trip
they had anticipated, as they resume a four-game series against the Atlanta
Braves this evening at Turner Field.
Florida entered its current swing against NL East op
Diamondbacks send Big Unit to hill to battle Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Randy Johnson took the mound the bullpen blew
his solid performance. Tonight, the Big Unit will try again to lead the
Arizona Diamondbacks to victory in the second test of a three-game series
against the Milwauk
Willis returns to starting role, as Tigers tangle with A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dontrelle Willis makes his first start in nearly two months
this evening when the Detroit Tigers play the middle tilt of their three-game
series with the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Willis, who is 0-1 with a 7.50
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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.
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