Atlanta Krunk (CBA)

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06/19/2007 - Hired Kenny Anderson as head coach.

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<< Toronto's Dichio is 50-50 for this week's game
Toronto, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC forward Danny Dichio sprained his ankle Sunday and is 50-50 for Saturday's game at New England. He suffered the injury in the 33rd minute of Sunday's 4-0 win over FC Dallas and remained in t

<< Peer sneaks past Likhovtseva at Eastbourne
Eastbourne, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer highlighted Tuesday's first-round winners at the $600,000 International Women's Open, a final Wimbledon tune-up. Peer held off Russian qualifier Elena Li

<< Ivanovic, Safina notch wins at Ordina Open
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open runner- up Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and 2006 's-Hertogenbosch finalist Dinara Safina of Russia were among Tuesday's winners at the $175,000 Ordina Open, a final grass-c

<< Robredo, Canas advance at Ordina Open
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and third-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the grass-court Ordina Open, a final Wimbledon tune-up. Robr

<< Eagles' TE Bartrum retires
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles tight end Mike Bartrum announced his retirement on Tuesday. Bartrum, a 13-year veteran, suffered a herniated disk in his neck during a loss to the Colts last season and was unable t

Cubs activate Ward >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have activated infielder Daryle Ward from the 15-day disabled list. He landed on the DL on June 3 with a left hip strain. Ward is hitting .270 (10-for-37) on the season with 10 walks a

Rockies stating their case in rugged NL West >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A new challenger has emerged to the trio that has been battling for top honors in the formidable National League West all season long. And no, it's not the San Francisco Giants. Now, it may be hard to view the Colorado Roc

A-Rod still on top of AL All-Star voting >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez continues to lead all players in voting for the upcoming All-Star Game. Rodriguez, who has never finished as the overall balloting leader, has garnered

2007 NHL Entry Draft: Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League will hold its annual Entry Draft this weekend at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, and the Chicago Blackhawks will get first crack at this year's pool of talented youngsters. The Bl

Wiz can move into first with result against Crew >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both Kansas City and Columbus came back from first-half deficits to earn 3-3 draws in their respective Major League Soccer fixtures on Saturday. Wednesday, both teams will be looking to get in the win column

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.