11/18/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been named the American League's Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Pedroia, last year's AL Rookie of the Year, garnered 317 points to outdistance Minnesota's Justin Morneau by 60 points. Pedroia placed first on 16 of the 28 ballots cast by two writers from each AL city, second on six others, third on four, and fifth on another, as he became just the second player to win an AL MVP Award the year after being elected Rookie of the Year.
Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1982 and AL MVP in 1983. Philadelphia's Ryan Howard also accomplished the feat in the NL, as he won the Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the MVP in 2006.
The 25-year-old Pedroia batted .326 with 17 home runs, 83 RBI and 118 runs scored. He also ranked first in the AL in doubles (54), fourth in total bases (322) and was the only player who had at least 175 hits, 75 runs scored, 75 RBI, 15 home runs, and 20 stolen bases while winning the Gold Glove.
This is the 11th time that a Red Sox player has won the award and the first since Mo Vaughn in 1995.
Morneau picked up seven first-place votes, seven second-place tallies, six thirds, three fourths, three fifths, a sixth, and a seventh-place vote for a total of 257, based on a tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.
Pedroia's teammate Kevin Youkilis finished third with 201 points in the voting.
Details to follow.
<< Schelotto wins final MLS Player of the Week of '08
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros
Schelotto received the final Major League Soccer Player of the Week honor of
the 2008 season.
Schelotto helped lead the Columbus Crew past the Chicago Fire,
<< Deweycheatumnhowe set for Breeders Crown Final
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hambletonian champ Deweycheatumnhowe
will take on 10 challengers in the Breeders Crown race for three-year-old male
trotters on Saturday, November 29 at The Meadowlands.
Deweycheatumnhowe won two of
<< United's Ferguson handed two-match ban, fined
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson
has been handed a two-match touchline ban and a $15,000 fine by the FA for his
spat with referee Mike Dean after the 4-3 win over Hull City.
The charge relate
<< Marlies center Deveaux suspended four games
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League announced
that Toronto Marlies center Andre Deveaux has been suspended for four games as
a result of his actions in a game vs. Manitoba this past Saturday.
The loss of De
BCS and ESPN reach four-year deal >>
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bowl Championship Series is moving to
cable, as ESPN has agreed to a four-year deal to broadcast the Fiesta, Orange
and Sugar Bowls from 2011-2014.
ESPN will also broadcast the BCS National Champion
Coach Keane has no plans to leave Sunderland >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Roy Keane has again
pledged his future to the club, despite talks over a new contract having so far
failed to reach a resolution.
Keane's current deal runs out at the end of the
Zenit's Tymoshchuk linked with move to Bayern >>
St. Petersburg, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zenit St. Petersburg skipper Anatoliy
Tymoshchuk has hinted that he will seek to leave the Russian club in the
January transfer window.
The 29-year-old Ukraine midfielder has been heavily li
Texas Tech-Oklahoma Repercussions >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With three weeks left to play, there's a
chance that only three games could determine which two teams reach the BCS
Championship. Those matchups include the SEC and Big 12 title games, along
with this Saturd
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting