Boozer, Okur to remain with Jazz
Basketball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Carlos Boozer and center Mehmet Okur both announced they will remain with the Utah Jazz for the 2009-10 campaign.
Boozer announced he will exercise his player option and remain with the club, while Okur declined to exercise his early termination option on his contract. Boozer is scheduled to earn $12.65 million next season, while Okur will make $9 million.
Boozer missed a majority of the 2008-09 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in January. The two-time All-Star missed 44 straight games but came back in late February and led the Jazz into the playoffs, where they were ousted in the first round by the eventual champion Lakers.
Despite the injury, Boozer, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged a double-double for the third consecutive year with 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds.
"We are excited that Carlos has decided to remain with the Jazz," said Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor. "We are hopeful he can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season."
Boozer signed with Utah as a free agent in 2004 after spending two seasons in Cleveland, which selected the Duke product in the second round of the 2002 Draft.
In 432 career games, the Alaska native has put up a robust 16.8 rebounds, 10.0 boards and 2.4 assists per game.
Okur, who came to Utah as a free agent in 2004, averaged 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 72 starts last season.
"We are looking forward to Memo's return," said Kevin O'Connor. "He has clearly been an integral part of our success since his arrival and we are hopeful that he will continue to perform at such a high level in the future."
Over seven NBA seasons, Okur has averaged 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds in 531 games (373 starts) with Utah and Detroit.
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns exercised the second-year team option on the contract of forward Louis Amundson. Signed by the Suns last August, Amundson saw action in a career-high 76 games last season and averaged 4.2 poin
<< Utah C Okur to return next season
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur decided
to exercise his player option in his contract and return to the team next
season, the club announced on Tuesday.
Okur, who came to Utah as a free agent i
<< Montana State gives basketball coaches three-year extensions
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montana State University has agreed to
three-year contract extensions with head women's basketball coach Tricia
Binford and head men's coach Brad Huse.
Each coach was set to enter the 2009-10
<< Smith to serve as Division I men's basketball chair
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA announced on Tuesday that Gene
Smith, the current associate vice president and athletics director at Ohio
State, has been named chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee for
the 201
<< Beltre has surgery
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre
underwent surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder.
Beltre, who was also put on the 15-day disabled list, had the procedure
performed by
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames' gamble paid dividends on Tuesday, as the club signed defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a multi-year contract just hours prior to the start of the NHL free agency period. Over the wee
Pirates blank Cubs, complete rare winning mark in June >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez doubled and knocked in two
runs, and Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings, as the Pittsburgh
Pirates got by the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the second of a three-game set at PNC
Park.
Haren pitches, hits D-Backs past Reds >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren threw seven innings of one-run
ball and added a double and solo home run at the plate to help snap the
Diamondbacks' five-game losing streak with a 6-2 decision over the Reds.
Haren (7-
Braves edge Phils in 10 innings at Turner Field >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gregor Blanco scored the winning run in the
10th inning as part of a three-hit night, and Martin Prado drove him in as
part of a four-RBI evening, as Atlanta used the big bats from two unlikely
sources
Big Unit defeats Carpenter, Giants top Cards >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edgar Renteria went 3-for-4 with two RBI and
Randy Johnson won the battle of former Cy Young Award winners, as the Giants
pulled out a 6-3 victory over Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals in the second
test of
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.
Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.