08/11/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 20, it was announced on Monday.
Angel scored two goals in New York's 4-1 victory over D.C. United at Giants Stadium on Sunday, a victory improved that the Red Bulls' record to 6-6-7. The win was pivotal for the team because it now sits tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with three other teams.
"It was a must-win game because of the circumstances," Angel said after the win. "We have to put ourselves in a playoff position and today was very important. I said that today was the most important game because it was the next one, now the [most important game] is against Toronto [next Sunday]. And if we show the character we showed today, I think we have a decent chance of getting the results from now [on]."
D.C. United scored the game's first goal in the 16th minute when Jaime Moreno headed home a cross from Fred. After that it was all New York.
"We couldn't get a grip of the game at the beginning in the first 15 minutes," Angel said. "Then they scored a goal. That wasn't the best case scenario for us. We didn't want to concede a goal early. But it happened. Then we showed [something] that we haven't showed earlier in the year. We showed character and resilience. We won a very difficult game against a decent side."
Angel got the equalizer 11 minutes after Moreno's goal when he lined up a shot and curled a free kick from 23-yards out into the lower left corner of the net, past United goalkeeper Zach Wells.
After Mike Magee gave the Red Bulls a lead just before the break, Angel scored his second goal of the game and sixth of the season five minutes after the break when he flicked a bouncing ball over Wells, beating him to a Mark Burch back-pass.
Sinisa Ubiparipovic added a goal in the final minutes to close out the scoring.
Angel, who was twice named the MLS Player of the Week in 2007, has tallied a team-high six goals and two assists in 12 games this season. Named to his second-consecutive MLS All-Star Game in July, Angel has scored four goals in the past four regular season games after missing a month of action due to hamstring and back injuries. His two-goal performance was his sixth of his MLS career and first of 2008.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). More information can be found at www.soccerreporters.com.
Below are the 2008 MLS Player of the Week winners to date:
Week 1: Terry Cooke (Colorado Rapids)
Week 2: David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 3: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
Week 4: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 6: David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 7: Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
Week 8: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 9: Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire)
Week 10: Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
Week 11: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Week 12: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 13: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 14: Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)
Week 15: Adam Cristman (New England Revolution)
Week 16: John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
Week 17: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
Week 18: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas)
Week 19: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas)
Week 20: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls)
<< A weekend to remember at Watkins Glen
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch established himself as NASCAR's
new "road-course king," and Australian driver Marcos Ambrose scored his first
Nationwide Series victory during a memorable weekend of racing at the historic
2.45-mil
<< Nashville inks first-rounder Pickard
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators signed goaltender
Chet Pickard to an entry-level contract on Monday.
The 18-year-old was the 18th-overall selection and the first netminder taken
in the 2008 draft this past June
<< Hart, Counsell lead the way as Brewers dump Nats
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Hart belted a two-run homer to snap a
tie and Craig Counsell helped blow the game open with a two-run double and a
run scored, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a four-game sweep of the
Washing
<< Kings ink first-round pick Doughty
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings agreed to terms on a
three-year entry-level contract with defenseman Drew Doughty on Monday.
Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.
Doughty was the Kings' second-overall draft
RSL waives defender Mantilla >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake waived Argentine DF
Matias Mantilla, the Major League Soccer team announced on Monday.
"Matias joined us last year and made an immediate impact to improve our team,"
RSL General Ma
Rays' Longoria heads to disabled list >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie third
baseman Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a fractured
right wrist.
Longoria was hit by a pitch from Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz on
Rangers Wilson to have season-ending surgery >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers closer C.J. Wilson will
have arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow later this week and miss the rest
of the season.
Wilson was placed on the 15-day disabled list following an 8-6 wi
Houston's Lee undergoes successful surgery >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston outfielder Carlos Lee underwent
successful surgery on his left pinky finger at The Methodist Hospital Monday.
Lee was placed on the 15-day disabled list following Saturday's 3-1
victo
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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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