11/19/2008 - Bologna, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serie A strugglers Bologna have bolstered their squad with the signing of former Lazio and Inter Milan midfielder Cesar Aparecido.
The 34-year-old Brazilian is a free agent after leaving Inter at the end of last season and becomes the first signing made by new Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Cesar first moved to Italy in the summer of 2001 to join Lazio, heading to Inter five years later.
The player himself said after signing up with Bologna: "I want to thank the club for giving me this opportunity.
"I feel good physically and I am ready to give everything in the battle for salvation. I will now be trying to show my ability and to score goals."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Hull City's Brown hit with fine
Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hull City manager Phil Brown has been handed
a $1,500 fine and warned over his future conduct by the Football Association
due to his actions during the 5-0 thrashing by Wigan.
The Tigers suffered a humi
<< Crespo ponders Real move
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan's veteran Argentinian striker
Hernan Crespo is a reported transfer target for Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Real are desperate to bring in a new frontman after losing Ruud van Nistelrooy
for th
<< Steelers TE Miller could return Thursday
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers may get tight end
Heath Miller back for Thursday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Miller has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. The fourth-year
tight end has
<< Skrtel eyes Liverpool return by Christmas
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Skrtel is confident he will be
ready to return to the Liverpool team before the busy festive program.
The Slovakia international, who has been sidelined since early October when he
damaged a p
Ottawa recalls Binghamton center Bass >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators recalled Cody Bass from
their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, it was
announced on Wednesday.
Bass, who began the 2008-09 season with Ottawa, has one go
Morse extends lead at Q-School >>
Coral Springs, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Morse carded a three-under 69
Wednesday to push his lead to three strokes after two rounds of the Champions
Tour National Qualifying Tournament.
Morse completed 36 holes at eight-under-par 13
Johnson enjoying his place in NASCAR history >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Days after capturing his third-consecutive
Sprint Cup Series championship, Jimmie Johnson has returned to his home in
North Carolina to relax and allow his record-tying accomplishment to finally
sink in
Vikings' Allen fined again, not suspended >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen
was fined, but not suspended for a hit on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron
Rodgers.
Coach Brad Childress said on Wednesday that, while Allen will be f
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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