11/15/2008 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire hit the game-winning jumper with 4.5 seconds left in overtime and blocked the final shot attempt, and Shaquille O'Neal recorded 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Sacramento Kings, 97-95.
The Suns were without Steve Nash and Matt Barnes, who were both suspended after an altercation in Wednesday's loss to the Houston Rockets. Suns guard Leandro Barbosa also missed the game, as he returned to his native Brazil following the passing of his mother, Ivete.
Grant Hill got over 45 minutes of playing time in their absence and contributed 22 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who have won three of four. Raja Bell had 14 points, and Stoudemire scored six points in the extra session as part of his 12-point night.
John Salmons paced the Kings with 21 points, while Beno Udrih scored 18 points for Sacramento, which had won four of five coming in. Brad Miller had 20 points, seven assists and 11 rebounds, and Spencer Hawes posted 14 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.
Stoudemire started off the overtime with a jumper to give Phoenix an early lead. After a Kings offensive foul, Stoudemire hit another jumper for a four- point edge.
Udrih's free throw with 2:53 left pulled Sacramento within three, and the guard hit a layup past Stoudemire to make it 93-91 with 1 1/2 minutes left.
Hill hit a jumper on the next possession, and Miller drained a couple free throws to make it 95-93. After Sean Singletary missed a wide-open jumper for Phoenix, Salmons ran the fast break, and Hawes deposited an easy layup to tie the game with 13.9 seconds left.
On the Suns' next offensive set, Stoudemire took a jumper from just inside the three-point line and made it over Hawes with 4.5 seconds on the clock. On the Kings' last play, Salmons had a clear path to the basket but was turned away by Boris Diaw. The rebound went to Hawes, who was blocked by Stoudemire to end the game.
Down by nine coming into the fourth, Sacramento made it a seven-point game on Quincy Douby's jumper from the corner. Singletary answered with a three for Phoenix, and Bell hit a free throw to make it an 11-point game with 10 minutes left.
After a Miller free throw, Salmons pulled the Kings to within eight with a 14- footer, and Douby hit another jumper to make it 74-68. Hawes made it a four- point game with a reverse lay-in with 7 1/2 minutes left.
Diaw gave Phoenix some breathing room with a three, and O'Neal made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch. But the Kings came within two on Udrih's layup with just over two minutes to play.
Douby had a chance to put the Kings ahead, but his three was off the mark. Goran Dragic then made 1-of-2 free throws to put the Suns up 86-83 with 1:14 left.
Miller drained a free throw with 49.4 seconds left to pull within two, and Salmons blocked Hill's ensuing jump shot. Hill went to save the ball from going out of bounds but threw it to Douby, who was fouled and hit both free throws to tie the game at 86-86 with 21.5 seconds remaining.
Hill missed his next jumper, and the Kings called a timeout with 3.2 seconds left. Douby's last-second shot clanged off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
O'Neal and Stoudemire combined for 14 points early, as the Suns held a 27-23 advantage after the opening quarter.
Leading 40-36, the Suns went on a 10-2 surge to take a 12-point lead. Bell hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and Phoenix carried a 53-42 advantage into halftime.
Udrih's three from the corner with just under two minutes left in the third cut the Kings' deficit to eight, but Bell answered with a three and the Suns headed into the final period up 70-61.
Game Notes
Nash was suspended for one game, while Barnes got two games for the incident...Sacramento's Kevin Martin sat out his third consecutive game due to an ankle sprain...Phoenix shot just 20-of-34 from the free throw line, while Sacramento made 23-of-30 of their attempts from the charity stripe...The Suns have beaten the Kings in five straight contests between the clubs.
<< Harden leads No. 15 Sun Devils past Delta Devils
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden scored a game-high 24 points and
doled out 10 assists to lead No. 15 Arizona State in an 80-64 thrashing of
Mississippi Valley State in the season-opener for both schools.
Ty Abbott added 18
<< Goebel and Bearcats hold off Louisville
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Goebel rushed for 77 yards on 10
carries and scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter that helped seal
the 22nd-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats' 28-20 victory over the Louisville
Cardina
<< Franzen helps Red Wings escape Florida with a win
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Franzen's power-play goal early in the
third period proved to be the game-winner, as the Detroit Red Wings edged the
Florida Panthers, 3-2, at the BankAtlantic Center.
Marian Hossa scored two goals
<< Marquette tops Houston Baptist in season opener
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews led all scorers with 27
points, as 16th-ranked Marquette opened the season and the Buzz Williams era
with a 95-64 thrashing of Houston Baptist.
Williams took over as head coach afte
Yankees offer Sabathia six years, $140 million >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees offered free agent pitcher
CC Sabathia a six-year, $140 million contract on Friday.
Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the offer in a story on the
team's Web site. The deal
Dodgers withdraw offer to Manny >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have
withdrawn the franchise record-setting offer they made to left fielder
Manny Ramirez last week, but the club is still interested in bringing the
slugger
All in the Family: Rooneys agree to keep ownership of Steelers >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A controlling interest in the Pittsburgh
Steelers will reportedly be sold to current team chairman Dan Rooney and his
son, Art II, the team's president.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, fo
Davydenko rolls Murray; Djokovic next in Masters Cup final >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray's sky-high ride to the
lucrative Tennis Masters Cup semifinals came to an abrupt end Saturday, as
Nikolay Davydenko closed strong in both sets to reach the final at the $4.45
million
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.
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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