Buffalo Bills 2010 Training Camp Preview
Football Betting Lines
07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: July 29th
SITE: St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, NY
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Chan Gailey, the only new head coach in the AFC in 2010, has some work cut out for him in his first training camp with the Bills. First and foremost is the quarterback battle among Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Brian Brohm, or as some might regard it, the search for the "lesser of three evils". There's potential drama at running back, where Marshawn Lynch remains a Bill but C.J. Spiller (Clemson) and holdover Fred Jackson have their sights set on the starting job. Buffalo cannot afford Spiller to hold out the way Aaron Maybin did a year ago. At wideout, the right to start opposite Lee Evans will be fought among a nondescript group including Roscoe Parrish, Steve Johnson, James Hardy, and fourth-round pick Marcus Easley (UConn). There's plenty of question marks up front too, where castoffs Jamon Meredith (ex-Packers) and Cornell Green (ex-Raiders) could start at tackle unless Demetrius Bell (knee) recovers in time to man the left side. On the other side of the ball, new coordinator George Edwards will be presiding over a switch to a 3-4 defense, and figuring out whether Kyle Williams or rookie Torell Troup (Central Florida) is best suited to the nose tackle spot is integral to the group's success. Edwards also needs pass rushers, and may have to pray that Maybin and Chris Kelsay can handle that load.
PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
Aug 13 - at Washington, 7:30 PM Aug 19 - vs. Indianapolis, 7:30 PM Aug 28 - vs. Cincinnati, 6:30 PM Sep 2 - at Detroit, 7:00 PM
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 26th (rookies), July 31st (veterans) SITE: Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre, Englewood, CO CAMP OBJECTIVES: It's going to be a messy summer at the glamour positions for the Broncos. Kyle Orton
<< Cleveland Browns 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: July 23rd (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans)
SITE: Cleveland Browns Training Facility, Berea, OH
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Eric Mangini's second training camp as head coach of the
Browns should go much more smoothly
<< San Diego Chargers 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: July 25th (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans)
SITE: Chargers Park, San Diego, CA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: With No. 1 wideout Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus
McNeill both looking like long-term holdouts, and wi
<< Kansas City Chiefs 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: July 29th
SITE: Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO
CAMP OBJECTIVES: With a pair of esteemed new coordinators in Charlie Weis
(offense) and Romeo Crennel (defense) now in the fold, Chiefs su
<< Indianapolis Colts 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: Aug. 1st
SITE: Anderson University, Anderson, IN
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Colts fans who know they're going to see a lot of backup
quarterback play in the preseason will at least receive a unique twist on that
s
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 28th SITE: Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY CAMP OBJECTIVES: After making the playoffs with what was primarily a ground- control offense last season, the Bengals made a number of moves in the offs
New England Patriots 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATES: July 25th (Rookies), July 28th (Veterans)
SITE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Apart from Randy Moss, the men Tom Brady will be throwing to
on Week 1 are unknown. Wes Welker is unlikely t
Blanc suspends French World Cup squad >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New France manager Laurent Blanc has decided
to suspend the entire 23-man team that took part in this summer's World Cup
for their friendly match against Norway next month.
Under the direction of former
Browns make it official with McCoy >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday
and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract.
Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed,
but the Cleveland Plai
Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon >>
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla
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.