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09/07/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team owner Rick Hendrick arguably had his best season in NASCAR's premier series in 2009, with Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finishing 1-2-3, respectively, in points. That same scenario won't be unfolding for Hendrick this year.
Gordon qualified for the championship Chase last month at Bristol, and Johnson, who is seeking his record-extending fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series title, locked down his playoff spot last Sunday at Atlanta. But Gordon and Johnson likely will be the only Hendrick drivers in this year's Chase field.
Barring a miracle in Saturday's regular season-ending race at Richmond, Martin will miss the Chase, as he currently trails 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 147 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 219-point deficit has him missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
With two drivers in and two out, would this be considered a down year for the mighty Hendrick organization? Not necessarily.
"We're not happy with where we are as an organization, but we're working on it," Hendrick said. "Nobody is blaming anybody, and nobody is giving up."
Ten drivers have now qualified for the Chase, which begins September 19 at New Hampshire.
Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer will presumably secure the final two spots in the Chase. Regardless of any other driver's performance, Biffle will clinch with a 42nd-place finish or higher, and Bowyer will qualify with a 28th-place run or better.
Heading into the Chase, not only will a fifth Cup championship for either Gordon or Johnson be a priority for Hendrick, but building momentum for all four teams will be among the top objectives as well.
"My philosophy is when you've got some areas to work on, you work hard and you work together," he said. "I would rather miss the Chase and have momentum in the last 10 [races] than be in the Chase and grind to a nothing toward the end of the year.
"Our plan is to build momentum and get better every week. Hopefully by the end of the year, we'll have all four teams going forward and not backing up."
Hendrick had three of his drivers in the Chase each year from 2006-09. Johnson has made the Chase each season since the playoff format began in 2004.
Johnson is currently seventh in points, but due to his five victories so far this year, he could start the Chase in the first seed. Denny Hamlin also has five wins for the season. Johnson's third-place run at Atlanta marked his first top-10 finish since August 1 at Pocono.
"There's a lot of teams coming together right now, and I think the 12 drivers in the Chase, and the organizations represented in the Chase, are all pretty strong," Johnson said. "I still think we are trying to catch up a little bit. Some guys might be a little further ahead. We all have our complaints here and there. But I think you're going to have a really good Chase."
Gordon presently holds the second spot in points, but Gordon has yet to win this season.
Martin recently has been plagued with distractions, particularly his driving status with Hendrick for next year. The 51-year-old Martin will drive the No.5 Chevrolet for Hendrick in 2011 before Kasey Kahne takes over his seat the following year.
"We'd certainly like to be in," Martin said. "We will make our very best effort, just as we have starting at Daytona in February. For me, and I think for our whole team, Staying focused on upping our game, improving our performance and working toward trying to get back in the form that we were in last year is our number one priority."
Martin notched five wins in his first season with Hendrick in '09, but has yet to drive into victory lane this year.
After finishing the '09 season a disappointing 25th in points, it looked like Earnhardt Jr. was on the rebound earlier this year. Earnhardt Jr. held a top-12 spot in points after Darlington in May, but NASCAR's most popular driver slowly has faded from there.
Hendrick confirmed this past weekend that Lance McGrew will remain as Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief heading into next year.
"I'm pretty happy with the chemistry there now," Hendrick noted. "We had some good momentum going, and then we kind of fumbled the ball a little bit here right before the Chase."
When Gordon failed to make the Chase field in 2005, Hendrick made a crew chief change on Gordon's team at the start of the 10-race playoffs, with Steve Letarte replacing Robbie Loomis.
Gordon and Letarte will be in the Chase for the fifth straight year.
Hendrick will attempt to set a record for most all-time owner championships in the series with 10, but chasing history won't be the only thing on Hendrick's mind during this year's Chase, as he looks to revamp his once-dominant organization.
<< A's bring up Hermida
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics on Tuesday selected the
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The A's signed Hermida last week after he was released by the Boston Red Sox,
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<< Cubs' Silva activated from DL to make Tuesday start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander
Carlos Silva from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, in time to make his
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St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Wild center James Sheppard will be
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The Wild announced Tuesday that the 22-year-old sustained the injury during
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<< Scola leads Argentina past Brazil to gain FIBA quarters
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola continued a blistering scoring
clip with 37 points on 14-of-20 shooting as Argentina edged Brazil, 93-89, to
gain a quarterfinal berth in a thrilling South American showdown at the 2010
FIBA Wo
Rockies recall Escalona among numerous roster moves >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday recalled right-
handed pitcher Edgmer Escalona from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The 23-year-old Escalona will look to make his debut in the majors. The
Venezuelan native
Nats recall Maya for highly-anticipated debut >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled pitcher
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to their game with the New York Mets.
Maya, a right-hander, is slated to make
Alouettes QB Calvillo expected to sit vs. Ticats >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony
Calvillo will likely not play in his club's next game with the Hamilton Tiger-
Cats on Saturday.
TSN of Canada and CFL.ca both reported on Tuesday that while
Chicago's Boquete wins WPS Player of the Week >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars attacker Veronica Boquete
was named Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 21 on
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Boquete led the Red Stars to wins in their final two games of the 2010 sea
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.
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Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!
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