11/19/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson led all scorers with 25 points, as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 102-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Craig Smith added 21 points off the bench for Minnesota, which picked up just its second win of the season -- the Timberwolves won their opener against Sacramento.
Mike Miller finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and made a three-pointer with 30.4 seconds left that helped Minnesota to the win.
Andre Miller had 20 points and six assists to lead the Sixers, who had won three in a row. Elton Brand finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Andre Iguodala added 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the loss.
The T'Wolves held the lead going into the fourth quarter, 76-65, but saw Philadelphia trim its deficit to six points. Lou Williams had two layups, the latter he turned into a three-point play, that made it an 82-76 contest.
Minnesota briefly restored its double-digit cushion, but the Sixers continued to chip away and with 4:12 to play, Andre Miller drained a pair of free throws to bring Philadelphia within 88-84.
Following a Minnesota miss, Iguodala took a fast-break pass, drove to the hoop and made a circus layup from the right side to get the Sixers within two.
Jefferson then got a basket for the T'Wolves, but Iguodala continued to hustle in the lane on the other end. He first tried a baseline layup, then collected the rebound and nailed a short jumper while being fouled. The free throw got Philadelphia within a point, and after the teams traded points -- Jefferson deposited a pair of layups -- Minnesota's lead stood at just 94-91 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
The teams were unsuccessful on their next possessions, and Iguodala got to the line with 1 1/2 minutes on the clock. He made just one shot, but Smith made only one for Minnesota.
The Sixers got the rebound off the miss on Smith's second shot, setting up Andre Miller's jumper with 50.4 ticks left. But Mike Miller canned a wide-open triple to put Minnesota ahead 98-94 with 30.4 seconds remaining.
Brand got the rebound off an Iguodala missed three-pointer, and got a fadeaway jumper to fall with 18.4 left. But the Sixers, still down two, were forced to foul. Randy Foye and Corey Brewer each made two free throws in the remaining time to seal Minnesota's win.
The Sixers were up 19-6 on an Iguodala triple midway through the first. But the T'Wolves came back with a 12-2 run, and had a 27-24 deficit at the end of the stanza.
Minnesota edged in front in a mostly back-and-forth second quarter, and was ahead 56-52 going to intermission. The T'Wolves then opened up their lead with a nine-point burst shortly into the third quarter and were ahead 67-56 midway through.
Game Notes
Iguodala made just 1-of-6 three-point attempts, as the Sixers finished 1- for-11 behind the arc for a 9.1 percent success rate. Philadelphia, though, did shoot 47.1 percent overall...Minnesota shot 51.4 percent from the field...Foye finished with 10 points and six assists for the T'Wolves, while Ryan Gomes had 14 points...Thaddeus Young contributed 15 points for the Sixers.
<< Ball State stays perfect with win over Central Michigan
Mount Pleasant, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Davis threw four touchdowns and
MiQuale Lewis rushed for 177 yards as the 14th-ranked Ball State Cardinals
stayed perfect on the season with a 31-24 decision over Central Michigan in an
excitin
<< Burrows scores twice as Canucks double up Rangers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Burrows had two goals and Vancouver
doubled up the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Madison Square Garden.
Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Pavol Demitra and Daniel Sedin also scored for
the Canucks, who
<< Salmons, Kings have big fourth quarter to beat Hornets
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Salmons led five Kings in double
figures with 29 points and six assists in Sacramento's 105-96 victory over the
New Orleans Hornets.
Salmons hit a solid 13-of-18 from the floor for the King
<< Clippers crush Thunder
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman led a balanced attack with 25
points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Oklahoma
City Thunder, 108-88, in a battle of the league's two worst teams.
With a combined
Kobasew and Chara lead fierce Bruins rally to down Sabres >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chuck Kobasew and Zdeno Chara both scored twice,
as the red-hot Boston Bruins scored the last five goals and defeated the
Buffalo Sabres, 7-4, at TD Banknorth Garden.
Marc Savard registered a goal and thre
Raptors overcome Wade's 40-point night win in over Heat >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points,
leading the Toronto Raptors over the Miami Heat, 101-95, in a tough road test
at American Airlines Arena.
Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal both posted double-doubl
Jazz top Bucks to extend home win streak; Boozer exits early >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Miles scored 25 points to lead Utah
to a 105-94 comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks, as the Jazz won their 14th
straight home game going back to last season.
Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 11
NCAA denies Stepheson's waiver petition >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA has denied forward Alex
Stepheson's waiver petition for immediate eligibility to compete for Southern
California.
Stepheson, who transferred this fall from North Carolina, will not be e
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.
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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