08/19/2008 - New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, second- seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic and eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish were second- round winners Tuesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
Andreev erased Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-4 on the hardcourts at the Connecticut Tennis Center.
Fish, who was last year's New Haven runner-up to fellow American James Blake, bounced back from a second-set loss to compatriot Wayne Odesnik to take a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory.
Karlovic dropped his first set to American John Isner, but then easily handled the next two sets to take a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4 victory.
German Mischa Zverev toppled fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-3, while No. 6 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia was leading last week's Washington, D.C. runner-up Viktor Troicki, 2-1, when the Serbian retired.
In additional action involving top-10 seeds, No. 7 Italian Andreas Seppi overcame compatriot Potito Starace 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; No. 9 Frenchman Marc Gicquel grounded Spaniard Albert Montanes 7-5, 6-3; and Fabio Fognini upended 10th- seeded fellow Italian Simone Bolelli 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Eleventh-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer snuck past pesky French veteran Arnaud Clement 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 on the grounds at Yale University.
American wild card Robby Ginepri posted an upset by taking out 12th-seeded Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, while other upsets came when Belgian Steve Darcis drove out 13th-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-2; Slovenian qualifier Luka Gregorc knocked out 14th-seeded Argentine Jose Acasuso 6-4, 6-4; and Czech Ivo Minar doused 15th-seeded Argentine Eduardo Schwank 7-5, 6-3. Minar is rewarded with a third-rounder against top-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
Sixteenth-seeded Romanian Victor Hanescu avoided an upset by holding off German Denis Gremelmayr 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
An additional second-round win came for American lucky-loser Jesse Levine, who drubbed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-0, 6-3. Levine joined the draw on Monday when red-hot Argentine Juan Martin del Potro withdrew, citing exhaustion.
The 2008 U.S. Open will commence Monday in New York.
<< Tennessee gains TE Warren, loses Cottam to surgery
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee received NCAA
approval Tuesday for sophomore tight end Brandon Warren to suit up for the
Vols this season.
Head coach Phillip Fulmer also announced that junior tight en
<< Fillmore earns medalist honors at U.S. Amateur
Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Fillmore fired a five-under 65 on
Tuesday to earn medalist honors after the stroke-play portion of the U.S.
Amateur.
The championship is being contested at Pinehurst Resorts No. 2 and N
<< Yankees get Matsui back, lose faith in Christian
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees activated
outfielder/designated hitter Hideki Matsui from the 15-day disabled list on
Tuesday and optioned outfielder Justin Christian to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-
Barre.
<< Report: Sixers bring back Ratliff
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly
agreed to bring back forward/center Theo Ratliff with a one-year contract.
According to a report Tuesday in the Philadelphia Daily News, the 35-year-old
Ratliff
Werth's homer lifts Phils, dooms Nats to 11th straight loss >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Werth hit a go-ahead home run in
the eighth inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 win over
Washington in the first of three games with the Nationals.
Shane Victorino finishe
Burnett baffles Bronx Bombers as Jays draw closer in standings >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Burnett was sensational on the hill, Adam
Lind hit a game-tying homer in the seventh and the Blue Jays got a lift from
Johnny Damon's fielding gaffe in the eighth, as Toronto edged the New York
Yankees
Sizemore and Tribe pound hapless Royals >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer, while
Ryan Garko and Shin-Soo Choo chipped in solo shots as the Indians turned away
the Royals, 9-4, in the opener of a three-game series
Anthony Reyes (2-1), in hi
Youkilis, Dice-K lead Sox past O's >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer and
Daisuke Matsuzaka remained perfect on the road, as the Boston Red Sox defeated
the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2, at Camden Yards.
Matsuzaka (15-2) pitched five innin
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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