Nielsen lifts Isles over Flyers in SO

Hockey Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frans Nielsen scored the winner in the shootout as the New York Islanders took a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wachovia Center.

After stopping all 18 shots in regulation and overtime, Ilya Bryzgalov was beat by Nielsen on a fake to the backhand that was lifted high.

Danny Briere, playing in his first game after missing six contests with a concussion, deked to the forehand and tried to stuff it in, but Evgeni Nabokov stuck his left pad out to the post and kept the puck out.

John Tavares then blew a wrister into the left side and Nabokov sealed the win when he made a right pad save on Wayne Simmonds' backhand offering.

Nabokov stopped 45 shots through the 65 minutes of play for his second shutout of the season and 52nd of his career for the Islanders, who have won three of four.

Bryzgalov posted his second shutout of the season and 25th of his career, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Flyers from losing three straight for the first time this season.

The Isles halted a 13-game losing streak in Philly with a 4-1 win on January 19 thanks to 40 saves from Nabokov. He was up to the challenge again on Tuesday as he stopped 10 shots in the first period, 15 in the second and 16 in the third before overtime saw him stop four shots to force the shootout.

He had to be on his toes all game as his team was thoroughly outshot every period as his counterpart needed to stop just seven each in the first two periods and had to make just four saves in the final 25 minutes.

Game Notes

Each team has won twice in the season series...Both squads went 0-for-3 on the power play...Philadelphia hosts Toronto on Thursday...The Islanders play host to the Canadiens on Thursday.

Wwwexcalibur Hockey Betting News

<< Brodeur, Devils shut out Rangers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record with the 117th shutout of his career, as the New Jersey Devils made a first period goal stand up in a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Davi

<< Pierce passes Bird as Celtics down Bobcats
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird for second all- time on Boston's scoring list as he scored 15 points to go with nine assists and eight rebounds in a 94-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at TD Garden on Tues

<< UConn gets road win over Louisville
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Doty had 15 points and No. 3 Connecticut defeated No. 20 Louisville, 56-46, at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday. Tiffany Hayes and Bria Hartley scored nine points apiece for Connecticut (22-2

<< No. 2 Notre Dame cruises past Syracuse
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devereaux Peters recorded a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds as No. 2 Notre Dame cruised to a 74-55 win over Syracuse. Kayla McBride scored 19 points, Skylar Diggins added 11 and Brittany Ma

<< Pacers hang on to beat Jazz
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Collison scored a season-high 25 points and added four rebounds as the Indiana Pacers held off the Utah Jazz, 104-99, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. Utah erased a 21-point third

James, Wade lead Heat over Cavs >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James had 26 and 24 points, respectively, as the Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-91 at American Airlines Arena. Chris Bosh added 15 points and nine rebounds for the H

Evansville gets past Creighton >>
Evansville, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenneth Harris scored 15 points and Colt Ryan had 14 in Evansville's 65-57 upset of No. 17 Creighton on Tuesday. The Purple Aces (12-12, 7-7 MVC) had lost three of four coming in, but outscored

Nash lifts Suns over Bucks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Suns saw a 21-point lead evaporate, but Steve Nash's short jumper with five seconds remaining lifted Phoenix over Milwaukee, 107-105. Nash ended with 18 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who have

Clifford's goal the difference in Kings' win over Lightning >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings skated past the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penne

Pekovic helps Minnesota down Sacramento >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikola Pekovic had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota as it defeated Sacramento, 86-84, at Target Center on Tuesday. Michael Beasley added his own double-double with 17 point

MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.

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.