Lyon misses chance to join leaders
Soccer Betting Lines
03/13/2010 - Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon missed out on a chance to join Bordeaux and Montpellier at the top of the Ligue 1 table on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by St Etienne.
With the top two teams in the league both having drawn their respective games earlier in the day, Lyon took the pitch knowing that three points would be enough to see them climb to the top.
However, a 38th-minute goal from Emmanuel Riviere put Lyon behind and they weren't able to recover until 10 minutes from time, when Lisandro Lopez pulled the home side level.
Gonzalo Bergessio set up the opening goal with a cross that was met by a diving header from Riviere, who put the ball well out of the reach of Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
St Etienne netminder Jeremie Janot needed to be on top of his game in the second half as Lyon heaped on the pressure but was only able to beat the keeper once as Lopez nodded home the equalizer to keep his team within two points of the top spot.
Bordeaux's struggles in the league continued as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Monaco, stretching their winless streak to three games.
The club still sits on top of the table on goal difference, and they have a game in hand after top-three sides Montpellier and Auxerre played to a 1-1 draw.
Auxerre entered the game having won its last four matches and they went ahead just before the break with a goal from Dennis Oliech. However, Alberto Costa's goal in the 66th minute was enough for Montpellier to claim a share of the points and keep them one point above their opponents.
PSG got a big 4-1 win over Sochaux as Mevlut Erding scored a hat trick, Lorient downed Lens, 1-0, with the lone goal coming from Sylvain Marchal in the 79th minute, Nice beat Le Mans, 1-0 and Boulogne recorded a 3-1 win at Nancy.
Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of second-half goals from Alberto Gilardino handed Fiorentina a 3-1 win over Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday. Ezequiel Lavezzi broke a scoreless deadlock early in the second half t
<< Bengals sign S Williams
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals and safety Roy
Williams have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal on Saturday.
The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that the eight-year veteran will be
coming back with t
<< Turner, Buckeyes drop Illini in 2-OT to reach Big Ten final
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Turner continues to steal the show in
Big Ten Tournament, scoring 11 of his game-high 31 points in a pair of
overtime sessions to lead No. 5 Ohio State to an exciting, 88-81, victory over
Illinoi
<< Bears capture second straight MEAC title
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Thompson paced the Bears with 18
points and 12 rebounds, and Morgan State captured its second straight Mid-
Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 68-61 win over South
Carolin
<< Texas A&M deals Nebraska first loss in Big 12 semis
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danielle Adams poured in 22 points and
grabbed nine rebounds, as 11th-ranked Texas A&M spoiled third-ranked
Nebraska's bid for a perfect season with an 80-70 victory in the semifinals of
the
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An MRI on Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace's left ankle came back negative on Saturday. The results showed Wallace does not have any fractures or ligament damage, but rather a left ankle and mid-fo
Weight done for season >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Islander captain Doug Weight will
miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury that will require
surgery.
The 39-year-old tore the rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder
Mississippi State downs Vandy, heads back to SEC final >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Stewart had 14 points and eight
rebounds to help Mississippi State upend No. 20 Vanderbilt, 62-52, for a
return trip to the SEC Tournament title game.
Jarvis Varnado was his usual domina
Mallorca stumbles at Getafe >>
Getafe, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca's troubles away from home continued
on Saturday as the club suffered a 3-0 defeat at Getafe.
Mallorca entered the weekend in fourth place, level on points with Sevilla and
only four behind third-p
Odysseus rallies to win Tampa Bay Derby >>
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odysseus, ridden by Rajiv Maragh, rallied down
the stretch to win Saturday's $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.
In recent years, the event has become an important prep for the Triple
Crown r
Sportsbooks to bet on football
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.