11/13/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee has been named the American League Cy Young Award winner by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Lee placed first on 24 of 28 ballots cast by two writers from each AL city and second on four others for a total of 132 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system, as he became the second straight Cleveland hurler to win this award and the third in team history. CC Sabathia won last year and Gaylord Perry captured the honor in 1972.
Toronto righty Roy Halladay finished second with 71 points, placing first on four ballots, second on 15 and third on six.
Lee was an MLB-best 22-3 this past season with an AL-leading 2.54 ERA, second in the majors only to Johan Santana of the New York Mets (2.53 ERA). His 22 wins were tied for the major league lead with Arizona's Brandon Webb, who was the National League's runner-up for the Cy Young Award to San Francisco's Tim Lincecum on Tuesday.
Details to follow.
<< Double trouble for Chelsea's Drogba
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea striker Didier Drogba faces both FA
and police investigations over his actions in throwing a coin toward Burnley
fans during the Blues' shock Carling Cup fourth round exit at Stamford Bridge.
Th
<< Knee surgery ends Van Nistelrooy's season
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will
miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on renewed injury problems
in his right knee.
The 32-year-old Dutchman had traveled to the United States f
<< Yankees announce 2009 coaching staff
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees named their coaching staff
for the 2009 season, and it includes the return of five members, while Mick
Kelleher is the lone new addition.
Pitching coach Dave Eiland, hitting coach Kev
<< L.A. defender Franklin named Rookie of the Year
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy defender Sean Franklin was
named Major League Soccer's Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
Franklin, 23, started 26 out of 27 matches and recorded one assist. He was the
Galaxys first pick -
Alouettes lead CFL offensive All-Stars >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes had five players listed
on the CFL's offensive All-Star team, which was announced Thursday.
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, receivers Ben Cahoon and Jamel Richardson,
center Bryan C
Cubs acquire Gregg from Marlins >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs acquired reliever Kevin Gregg
from the Florida Marlins on Thursday in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose
Ceda.
The right-handed Gregg made 72 appearances for the Marlins last season
Wild activate Nolan off IR >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild activated right wing Owen
Nolan off injured reserve on Thursday. He had been sidelined since November 3
with a lower body injury.
Nolan is in his first season with Minnesota and entered T
Phillies add Perlozzo to coaching staff >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies hired
former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo to their coaching staff on Thursday.
Perlozzo has not yet been assigned a specific coaching position, though the
club said
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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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