11/20/2008 - Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roush Fenway Racing announced Thursday it has signed Matt Kenseth to a multi-year contract extension. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup Series champion, has been with the racing organization since 1998.
"It's been a great 11 years at Roush Fenway Racing," Kenseth said in a team statement. "We've had a lot of success together including a championship, and I'm really proud of that. I'm looking forward to the next few years and winning another championship with Roush Fenway."
Kenseth has recorded 16 career Sprint Cup victories, but has not won since the 2007 season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He is also one of two drivers who has qualified for the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship each year since the program's inception in 2004. Three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson is the other driver.
Kenseth ended this year's Sprint Cup season 11th in the point standings as he scored nine top-five finishes and 20 top-10's. His best finish in 2008 was second, coming in September at Dover (the second race in the Chase).
"Matt Kenseth is a champion in every sense of the word, and John Henry and I are proud to have him in our stable of drivers," team owner Jack Roush said. "Over the last 11 years, Matt has been a leader in our organization and a voracious competitor on track, and to know that he will continue on in that role with Roush Fenway is gratifying."
<< Oilers activate Smid from IR
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers activated defenseman
Ladislav Smid from injured reserve on Thursday.
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month. He was hurt during a Novem
<< Four candidates added to final Payton Watch list
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four new candidates have been added to
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Carolina State, wide receiver John Matthews of San Diego, quarterback Chris
Pizzotti of Ha
<< Inter's Adriano not headed to Brazil's Fluminense
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unsettled Inter Milan striker Adriano will not
be joining Fluminense in January, according to his agent.
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reports of a fall-out w
<< Morse clings to slim lead at Champions Q-School
Coral Springs, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Morse struggled to a two-over 74
Thursday as his lead dropped to one stroke after three rounds of the Champions
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Sunderland's Keane requests FA hearing >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Roy Keane has denied an
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Hull leads ADT Championship by one >>
West Palm Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull posted a four-under 68
Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the season-ending
ADT Championship.
Hull collected her first win earlier this season at the Canadian
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Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AS Roma has dismissed reports which suggested
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Liverpool's Skrtel denies Zenit rumors >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and defender
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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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