11/20/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn has a broken right index finger, but it apparently won't sideline him for Sunday's game against Houston.
Quinn, who has started the last two games for the Browns, has a small fracture in the tip of the finger on his throwing hand, suffered when he hit another player's helmet in Monday's 29-27 win over the Buffalo Bills.
The second-year quarterback was examined by a hand specialist, who cleared him to play. Quinn will wear a splint on the finger when he's not practicing or playing.
Drafted 22nd overall by Cleveland out of Notre Dame in 2007, Quinn has completed 37-of-71 passes for 424 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in two starts for the Browns this season. After a 34-30 loss to Denver in his first career start, Quinn completed 14-of-36 passes for 185 yards on Monday, as Cleveland edged Buffalo for his first win.
The Columbus, Ohio native was given the starting job after Derek Anderson struggled in Cleveland's 3-5 start. The 4-6 Browns host the 3-7 Texans on Sunday.
<< Mussina hangs up spikes after first 20-win season
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina, as
expected, retired on Thursday after 18 seasons in the major leagues.
Reports circulated on Wednesday that Mussina had decided to call it quits
after the fi
<< Golf Tidbits: Why golf is a gentleman's sport
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every sport has its rules. How often
people break them depends on the sport. How frequently people call themselves
for breaking said rules is a different story.
Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwir
<< Nalbandian-Ferrer will open Davis Cup final
Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the 2008 Davis Cup final
between host Argentina and Spain commences on Friday, the host nation's David
Nalbandian will battle the visitors' David Ferrer in the opening singles
rubber
<< Is Mussina a Hall of Famer?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The worst-kept secret in baseball started to leak out on
Wednesday, when it was revealed that right-hander Mike Mussina was indeed
going to hang up his spikes after 18 seasons.
The news certainly comes as no shock, as the
Atletico forced to play PSV behind closed doors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid has been told it will have to
play next week's Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven behind closed
doors.
The Spanish side partially lost their appeal to the Court of Arbitratio
Broncos put TE Jackson on IR, sign Mustard >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos placed tight end Nate
Jackson on injured reserve Thursday, ending his season. The club also signed
tight end Chad Mustard.
Jackson injured his right hamstring in practice on Wednesd
Report: Dolphins sign WR Camarillo to three-year extension >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have reportedly come to terms
on a three-year contract extension with wideout Greg Camarillo, the team's
leading receiver.
The Miami Herald reported Thursday that the Dolphins and Camarill
Juventus targeting Bayern Munich's Schweinsteiger >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reports from Turin suggest Bayern Munich's
Germany international Bastian Schweinsteiger is a target for Juventus.
The Serie A giants are keen to sign a replacement for Pavel Nedved in January
and, accor
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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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