12/17/2006 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade came back from a two-game absence in a huge way, pouring in a season-high 41 points, helping the Heat to a 98-90 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wade, who missed the previous two games following dental surgery, shot 15-of-24 from the field and had seven assists, as Miami snapped a two-game skid.
"He had fresh legs," Heat coach Pat Riley said of Wade. "He came in yesterday and worked out and had a really good cardio workout. It is amazing what a couple of days will do for a guy, so he felt really refreshed and obviously it showed."
Dorell Wright had 10 points and a career-best 16 rebounds for the Heat, who shot 50.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Grizzlies, 45-30.
Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick each had 20 points for Memphis, which dropped its sixth in a row.
"We got hurt on offensive boards," Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello said. "Dorell Wright was very active for them. He kept the ball alive."
Miami led 28-26 after the first quarter, but the lead see-sawed back and forth in the second until the Heat established a 54-47 edge at the half. They ended the period on an 8-2 run.
Udonis Haslem's layup moved Miami's lead to 62-51 early in the third and it was 80-69 going into the fourth.
Two straight baskets by Wade extended the Heat to an 87-71 lead early in the fourth, and the Grizzlies never threatened the rest of the way.
Game Notes
Miami has won four straight meetings...Memphis has lost nine of its last 10 games...Jason Kapono had 13 points and Alonzo Mourning 11 for Miami...Dahntay Jones scored 15 for Memphis.
<< Bulls edge Hawks in OT
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andres Nocioni scored 24 points, grabbed eight
rebounds, and hit two clutch free throws with 13.4 seconds left in overtime as
the Chicago Bulls held on for a 106-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta's
<< Top-ranked Bruins roll over Oakland
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Collison had 15 points while Arron
Afflalo chipped in with 14 as top-ranked UCLA cruised to a 74-53 victory over
Oakland.
Josh Shipp added 13 points and six rebounds and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute e
<< Blackhawks topple Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Havlat had a goal and two assists as
Chicago struck with five first period goals and then hung on to beat Columbus,
6-4.
Denis Arkhipov, Jeffey Hamilton, and Tuomo Ruutu each had a goal and an
<< Notre Dame crushes Elon
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Carter scored a game-high 21 points,
pulled down six rebounds and also dished out four assists as 21st-ranked Notre
Dame crushed Elon, 94-63, at the Joyce Center to remain perfect at home this
season.
Kariya, Predators have St. Louis singing the Blues once more >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Kariya scored in regulation and added
the game-winner in the shootout to lead the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win
over the St. Louis Blues at Gaylord Entertainment Center in the front end of a
home-an
Texas A&M blows out Jacksonville >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Carter netted 16 points with five
assists as 13th-ranked Texas A&M crushed Jacksonville, 97-58, at Reed Arena.
Acie Law IV and Antanas Kavaliauskas each scored 15 points for the Aggies
(9-2),
Billups, Hamilton lead Pistons past Nets >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups notched 27 points and
11 assists, as the Detroit Pistons closed out a four- game road trip with a
90-82 victory over the New Jersey Nets at Continental Airlines Arena.
Richard Hami
Howard leads Mavs past Hornets >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Howard poured in 23 points and pulled
down eight rebounds and Dirk Nowitzki posted 20 points with 10 boards to lead
Dallas past New Orleans/Oklahoma City, 90-79.
Devin Harris scored 13 points and
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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