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Portland gets first pick in expansion draft

Soccer Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Timbers have the first pick in the 2011 Major League Soccer Expansion Draft, it was decided on Monday as a result of the Expansion Priority Draft with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The Timbers and Whitecaps selected priority among eight player-acquisition mechanisms, as the two clubs prepare for their inaugural MLS season in 2011.

In addition to the first pick in the Expansion Draft, Portland will have the second selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft as well as priority over Vancouver in designated player ranking, discovery ranking and lottery ranking.

"Today is a significant milestone for the organization and sets up how we approach the development of our MLS roster," Portland Technical director Gavin Wilkinson said. "The results of [Monday's] draft help reinforce the direction of the organization and allow us to go one step further in identifying and researching players of interest."

The Whitecaps have the first pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, and subsequently have priority in allocation ranking, USL player ranking and waiver/re-entry draft ranking.

The designated player ranking allows priority if one or more MLS clubs wish to negotiate with the same designated player. The discovery ranking awards priority if multiple MLS clubs attempt to discover the same player. Lottery is the mechanism used to add SuperDraft eligible players, who MLS has attempted to sign before or after the SuperDraft who no team has any rights to.


<< Blackhawks make it official with Pisani
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks officially brought in free-agent forward Fernando Pisani, signing him to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Terms of the contract were not released, but TSN of Canada reported

<< Report: Bobcats sign Kwame Brown
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats have reportedly reunited former No. 1 pick Kwame Brown and new team owner Michael Jordan. The Charlotte Observer reports the Bobcats have brought in Brown on a one- year, $1

<< Mets to face Marlins ace in divisional clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will try to win consecutive starts for the first time in over a month when he takes the mound tonight in the opener of a three-game road series versus the New York Mets. Johnson was 0-2 wit

<< Padres return home to battle Diamondbacks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres will try to pad their lead atop the National League West standings when they open a three-game series versus the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks tonight from Petco Park. San Diego is 5 1/2 games in

<< White Sox seeking to bounce back against Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox are hoping an upcoming series with the Baltimore Orioles will catapult them back into the playoff mix. The two teams collide tonight in the opener of a three-game set at US Cellular Field. Chicago is

Ducks' Lupul has blood infection, will miss start of season >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks forward Joffrey Lupul is expected to miss all of training camp and will not be ready for the start of the regular season due to a blood infection. The Orange County Register reported on Tu

Wolfsburg's Friedrich needs back surgery >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg and Germany defender Arne Friedrich will have back surgery to correct a slipped disc Thursday, at which time it will be determined how long the 31-year-old will be sidelined. Friedrich st

Oregon State OL Thomas arrested, dismissed from team >>
Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon State offensive lineman Tyler Patrick Thomas has reportedly been dismissed from the team following an early Sunday morning arrest. The Gazette Times reported that Corvallis police were calle

Bucs bring back Jevan Snead >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Jevan Snead in light of Josh Freeman's injury over the weekend. Snead was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in April after a standou

Lyon acquires Gourcuff from Bordeaux >>
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon acquired France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff from Bordeaux on Monday night for a fee that could reach $33.5 million. Lyon and Bordeaux agreed on the transfer for an initial fee of just under $28 million and

Sportsbooks to bet on football

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 football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
  • What team will win the coin toss
  • What player will score the game’s first touchdown
  • What will be the exact margin of victory

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.