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07/13/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, July 18. Race: Honda Indy Toronto. Site: Streets of Toronto. Track: 1.721-mile, 11- turn temporary street course. Start Time: 12:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 85. Miles: 146.285. 2009 winner: Dario Franchitti. Television: ABC. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
The IZOD IndyCar Series heads to Canada this weekend for the second running of the Honda Indy Toronto on the streets of Toronto.
Two weeks ago, Watkins Glen, NY kicked off a string of five races on street/road courses. Edmonton, Canada, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma, CA are upcoming on the IndyCar schedule.
Will Power from Team Penske gave his title hopes a huge boost by winning at Watkins Glen. Power picked up his third victory of the season, but his first since March at St. Petersburg, FL. All three of his wins this year have come on street/road courses. He also is the only repeat winner in the series so far this season.
With the win, Power widened his lead from 11 points to 32 over Dario Franchitti, the defending series champion. Franchitti's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon is 40 points behind. Ryan Briscoe sits fourth in points (-47), and Helio Castroneves holds the fifth spot (-54).
With eight races remaining, it looks as though it will be another tight battle for the IndyCar championship.
"No question it's more competitive than it's ever been," Power said. "It's going to be tight. It could come down to five people at the end of the year. It's that close with someone different winning every week."
Franchitti won last year's inaugural IndyCar race at Toronto. He recovered from a pit road mishap and then capitalized on a series of late-race crashes to capture the victory. It was Franchitti's third win of the season.
Power rebounded from an opening lap incident. He cut his right-rear tire after making contact with Graham Rahal heading into the first turn. Power fell almost one lap behind, but bounced back nicely for a third-place finish.
The win at Toronto allowed Franchitti to regain the points.
"For me, I just look at it one at a time, road course, oval, whatever it is," Franchitti said. "It means you have to be on top of your game, whether Toronto, Chicago or Homestead for the last race. You have to be absolutely on it. If you can't win, finish second."
Twenty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Honda Indy Toronto.
<< Nationwide Series begins second-half of season at Gateway
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, July
17. Race: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. Site: Gateway International
Raceway. Track: 1.25-mile oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles:
250. 2009 wi
<< Columbus hosts struggling K.C. in mid-week MLS fixture
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew return home when they host
the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer action at Crew Stadium on
Wednesday.
The Eastern Conference leading Crew (8-2-4) are coming off a scoreless d
<< Agent: Ilgauskas to sign with Miami Heat
MIAMI (AP) -Zydrunas Ilgauskas is following LeBron James to the Miami Heat.Agent Herb Rudoy says the veteran center expects to sign a two-year contract later this week. The terms have not been finalized, but Rudoy says ``we've agreed to agree.''Rudo
<< Kohlschreiber exits Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded German favorite Philipp
Kohlschreiber was an opening-round upset victim Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup
tennis event.
German Florian Mayer upended his compatriot Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2 on
Jacksonville State renaming stadium >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State University will rename
its football field Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium at its Sept. 11 home
opener against Chattanooga.
The university's Board of Trustees approved the name change f
Dundee signs Swanson to extension >>
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United midfielder Danny Swanson
has penned a contract extension to keep him at Tannadice until the summer of
2012.
The 23-year-old has scored seven times in 87 appearances for the Terrors t
Gosling set to join promoted Newcastle >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United appears to have won the
race to sign Dan Gosling, who left Everton last week in controversial
circumstances.
However, United boss Chris Hughton will not be able to unveil the $
Ilgauskas follows LeBron to Miami >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has apparently
decided to join former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in Miami.
The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported Tuesday afternoon that Ilgauskas will
sign with the Hea
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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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 football betting 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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