11/17/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles scored 21 points apiece to lead the injury-ravaged Utah Jazz to an impressive 109-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Utah, playing without star guard Deron Williams (ankle) and center Mehmet Okur (personal), won with a mix-and-match group that hammered Phoenix on the backboards, 47-26. Andrei Kirilenko, who had missed time with a finger injury, scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.
Brevin Knight scored 12 points and dished out six assists, while Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver netted 11 points apiece.
The Jazz bench outscored the Suns reserves, 59-16, in the victory. Utah won five straight games to start the season, but went just 1-4 on a road trip before coming home for two games.
Amare Stoudemire led all scorers with 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Matt Barnes added 19 points. Steve Nash donated 14 points with eight assists for the Suns, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.
The first half was a tale of two quarters as Phoenix grabbed a 32-23 lead after 12 minutes only to see the lead dissolve and turn into a 57-54 halftime deficit.
Phoenix took a brief lead in the third stanza, 60-59, on Barnes' layup with 10:14 to play. Utah regained its footing and increased its edge to 75-70 on Boozer's layup with 3:36 to go.
The Suns again snuck closer at 83-81 on Boris Diaw's jumper. Kirilenko responded with a clutch three-pointer, and a 13-0 run moments later put the game away.
Millsap and Knight poured home jumpers then Kirilenko grabbed a rebound, dribbled up the court and sank a mid-range shot. After three more jumpers -- one each by Knight, Boozer and Kirilenko -- Millsap converted a free throw with 4:51 on the clock for a 103-86 edge.
Game Notes
Phoenix shot 48.6 percent from the floor, while Utah made 47.1 percent of its shots...Utah assisted on 28 of 40 made field goals with six each from Knight and Ronnie Price...Attendance 19,911.
<< Rockets send Thunder to eighth straight loss
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola led the way for Houston with
23 points and nine rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Thunder, 100-89, at
the Ford Center.
Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 boards for the Rockets, who
<< Conklin, Red Wings blank Oilers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots he faced for
his first shutout of the season, and the Detroit Red Wings blanked the
Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, at Joe Louis Arena.
"It's nice to get that first (shutout) o
<< Thomas strong between the pipes as Bruins clip Maple Leafs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas made 28 saves and withstood a late
Toronto surge as the Boston Bruins edged the Maple Leafs, 3-2, at Air Canada
Centre.
Phil Kessel, Michael Ryder and Matt Hunwick had the goals for the Bruins,
<< Austrie, second-ranked Huskies roll past Hartford
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Austrie scored 21 points, and the
second-ranked Connecticut Huskies routed the Hartford Hawks, 99-56, in early-
season action at XL Center.
Kemba Walker had 21 points, while Jerome Dyson added
Dawson wins battle of kickers; Browns edge Bills >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal gave the
Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 45-yard attempt
wide right in the final minute as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win
over th
Griffin leads Sooners over Miss. Valley State >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, 19
rebounds and six steals, and 12th-ranked Oklahoma cruised past Mississippi
Valley State, 94-53, in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Sooners (2-
Mason's three puts Spurs past flailing Clips >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Mason scored 21 points, including the
go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds left in the game, to lead the
streaking San Antonio Spurs in an 86-83 victory over the struggling Los
Angeles
Memphis crushes UMass to give Calipari coaching record >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio Anderson scored 15 points and grabbed
12 rebounds, and 13th-ranked Memphis ripped Massachusetts, 80-58, to make John
Calipari the winningest coach in program history.
The win was Calipari's 221st a
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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