11/04/2008 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday announced most of the coaching staff of new manager Ken Macha.
Macha was announced as the new skipper this past Thursday, and will have Dale Sveum as his hitting coach. Sveum, returning for his fourth season with the Brewers, served as interim manager for Milwaukee's final 12 games of the 2008 regular season after Ned Yost was fired. Sveum led the Brewers to the playoffs as the National League wild card.
Also on Macha's staff is Bill Castro, who agreed to terms to return for his 18th season as bullpen coach.
Ed Sedar returns for his third season as first-base coach, while Brad Fischer will be the third-base coach. Fischer spent last season in the Pittsburgh organization as a minor league catching coordinator.
Pitching and bench coach positions have not yet been filled, though Castro is a candidate for the pitching coach vacancy.
<< Culpepper inks deal with Detroit
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions and free-agent quarterback
Daunte Culpepper have signed a two-year contract on Tuesday. No other terms of
the contract were disclosed.
The deal comes two days after the Lions dropped a 27
<< Revs' Parkhurst repeats as Fair Play award winner
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England defender Michael Parkhurst was
named the winner of the 2008 Major League Soccer Fair Play Award on Tuesday.
Parkhurst recorded just nine fouls in 28 games of MLS regular-season action
this
<< Columbus' Brassard named top rookie for October
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard
has been selected as the NHL's top rookie for the month of October.
Brassard led all rookies and his team in scoring with four goals and five
assists in 10 g
<< Rangers defender Papac poised to pen new deal
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers defender Sasa Papac is expected to
sign a contract extension later this week.
The Bosnian, who moved to Ibrox in August 2006, currently has a deal that
expires at the end of this season,
Analyzing the Conference Home Underdog >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the most widely known angles in
college football wagering is siding with the conference home underdog (CHU).
The trend began slowly this year, as just eight of the first 20 teams fitting
this descrip
Bologna sacks Arrigoni, hires Mihajlovic >>
Bologna, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serie A strugglers Bologna have sacked coach
Daniele Arrigoni and named former Inter Milan number two Sinisa Mihajlovic as
its new manager.
Arrigoni, who guided Bologna back to the top flight last seaso
AFC West: Chargers Can Win for Not Losing >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At this rate, Norv Turner and the San Diego Chargers might
not have to wake up until some time after Thanksgiving.
As they sat home licking their wounds following a two-game losing streak, the
Chargers watched as the first
QB Clark to start for Penn State >>
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State starting quarterback Daryll
Clark will play Saturday at Iowa after sustaining a concussion on October 25
in the Nittany Lions' 13-6 victory over Ohio State.
Clark has thrown for 1,652 y
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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