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08/12/2007 - Elkhart Lake, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Bourdais led 51 of 53 laps and won Sunday's Generac Grand Prix on the historic Road America road course. The No.1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver crossed the finish line 9.751 seconds ahead of Dan Clarke.
The victory was Bourdais' series-leading fifth of the season and 28th of his Champ Car career.
"It was a great result for the team," said Bourdais. "Graham (Rahal) was on the podium too, it couldn't be any happier for the team owners."
Bourdais brought the field to the green flag to begin the race. But the excitement was behind him where Bruno Junqueira jumped the start, grabbed the third position behind Bourdais and Robert Doornbos, only to be penalized for his illegal start.
On lap 14 the three leaders, Bourdais, Doornbos and Graham Rahal all pitted yielding the lead to Clarke. Clarke made his stop two laps later and fell in line in fourth behind the three early leaders.
With one hour still to race, Bourdais held 2.238 seconds on Doornbos, who also was second to the Frenchman in the series championship.
The top four remained in line as the field passed the 22-lap mark. Then Rahal flew around Doornbos for second and his Clarke also quickly came up on his teammate.
Was something wrong with the No.14?
Clarke made the pass of Doornbos, but in the process knocked off his teammate's front wing. Doornbos was 14th when his pit crew repaired the damage and got him back out in the race.
With 30 minutes to go, Doornbos was still mired in 13th place and with Bourdais holding a five-second lead looked to take a big hit in his title hopes.
Bourdais was still cruising with his Newman/Haas/Lanigan teammate Rahal protecting him in second place. On lap 41 with 20 minutes left, Bourdais made his final stop of the day holding an eight-second lead. After everyone had cycled through, Bourdais' lead was 7.816 seconds, but Clarke had gotten around Rahal for second.
Clarke cut the lead at one point to 5.648 seconds with just under seven minutes to go, but to no avail. Bourdais got his first win at the historic Elkhart Lake track and the 28th of his career.
Rahal, Oriol Servia and Alex Tagliani completed the top-five.
The next race in the series is set for Sunday, August 26th in Belgium.
<< Surging Yanks sweep Tribe, keep pace in AL wild card
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Giambi belted a two-run homer and Andy
Pettitte pitched into the eighth inning, as the New York Yankees completed a
three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a 5-3 victory at Jacobs Field.
Melky
<< Two Ordonez homers lift Tigers past A's and back into first
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Magglio Ordonez blasted two home runs off
Dallas Braden in an eight-run second inning as Detroit downed Oakland, 11-6,
in the third leg of a four-game set at Comerica Park.
Ordonez became just the sec
<< Rooney suffers fractured foot in United opener
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was bad enough for Manchester United
that the club opened its season with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Reading
on Sunday, but the team received even worse news following the game when it
was rev
<< Cubs place Floyd on bereavement list
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs placed outfielder Cliff
Floyd on the bereavement list prior to the Sunday's series finale with the
Colorado Rockies.
Floyd, who was hitting .290 with four home runs and 36 RBI, lef
Djokovic stuns Federer for Montreal crown >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic finished an amazing run at the
Rogers Masters with a stunning three-set victory over world No. 1 Roger
Federer in Sunday's final.
Djokovic pulled off a 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) triu
Ludwick and Cardinals crush Dodgers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick hit a three-run homer and
finished with four runs batted in as the St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 12-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Busch
Stadium
U.S. women roll to win over New Zealand >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd each scored twice
as the United States Women's National Team rolled to a 6-1 victory over New
Zealand in a friendly on Sunday.
Kristine Lilly and Lindsay Tarpley also scored for
Astros salvage game with Brewers >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Biggio, Ty Wigginton and Lance Berkman
all homered as Houston downed Milwaukee, 6-4, in the finale of a three-game
set at Minute Maid Park.
Eric Bruntlett added a big two-run single for the Astros,
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.
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
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