Magic win eighth straight, top Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard put up 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and even dished out five assists, as Orlando overcame a sluggish start to upend lowly Washington, 109-95.

J.J. Redick netted 18 points, and fellow reserve Brandon Bass contributed 16 points and nine rebounds for the Southeast Division-leading Magic, winners of eight straight. Vince Carter scored 18 points for the victors.

Andray Blatche posted 32 points for the Wizards, who actually led by 15 before stumbling to their seventh consecutive loss. Shaun Livingston provided 18 points and eight assists, and Al Thornton chipped in 15 points in defeat.

Orlando took control in the third, scoring the first eight points of the frame. Howard had a pair of inside buckets and hit a free throw two minutes in for a 69-55 cushion.

The difference was 88-76 with a quarter to play, and a Bass jumper and Redick three-pointer pushed the Magic lead to 93-76 early in the final stanza.

The visitors led comfortably the rest of the way.

Washington scored the final 12 points of the first quarter to take a healthy 33-20 margin. By the midway point of the second frame, the Magic had already battled back to take the lead, 44-41, behind a 10-0 run.

Howard's slam in the closing second of the half gave Orlando a 61-55 lead.

Game Notes

This is Orlando's first eight-game win streak since April of 2006...Jameer Nelson added nine points and eight assists for the Magic, who made 51.9 percent from the floor and 8-of-14 from three-point range...Washington, which had won the first two meetings against the Magic this season, was beaten on the glass, 46-30.

Wwbet365 Basketball Betting News

<< San Diego State handles UNLV in MWC title game
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and set a Mountain West Conference Tournament record with 21 rebounds as San Diego State punched its ticket to the Big Dance with a 55-45 win over UNLV on the Runnin' Rebels'

<< Ohio upends Akron in OT, gains MAC's automatic bid
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points and made the go-ahead jumper late in overtime, as the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with an 81-75 victory over the t

<< Huskies edge Cal to take Pac-10 crown
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quincy Pondexter had 18 points to lead Washington to a 79-75 win over California, as the Huskies won their second Pac-10 Conference Tournament title. Isaiah Thomas had 16 points and Venoy Overton

<< Kansas captures Big 12 title with third win over K-State
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris donated 18 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 1 Kansas to its seventh Big 12 Tournament championship behind a 72-64 victory over ninth-seeded Kansas State. The Jayhawks (32-2) never

<< Sidney's Candy garners San Felipe Stakes
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney's Candy, winner of the San Vicente Stakes, made it two straight Saturday by winning the $150,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The colt covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:42.30. Ridden by

Bryzgalov, Coyotes shut out Hurricanes >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves to record his NHL- leading eighth shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes won their fourth straight game with a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes. Lee Stempniak and Martin Hanzal each

Rafalski's OT tally lifts Detroit over Buffalo >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Rafalski's power-play goal 31 seconds into overtime gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Buffalo at Joe Louis Arena. Buffalo's Tyler Myers was called for delay of game late in regulation and the penalty carr

Smith's 11 helpers paced Atlanta over Detroit >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson finished with 26 points, as the Atlanta Hawks used an efficient offensive performance to take a 112-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Josh Smith added 18 points and a career-high 11 assis

Blues keep rolling, top Blue Jackets >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy McDonald had a goal and a pair of assists, and Chris Mason stopped 24 shots, as the surging St. Louis Blues topped Columbus, 5-1, at Nationwide Arena. Alexander Steen, B.J. Crombeen, David

Bergenheim, Islanders double up Devils >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Bergenheim scored a short-handed goal late in the third period as the New York Islanders took down the New Jersey Devils, 4-2 at Nassau Coliseum. Freddy Meyer, Jon Sim and Mark Streit also scored f

MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse racing . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.