Blues nip Stars, deal blow to Dallas playoff hopes

Hockey Betting Lines

04/03/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlo Colaiacovo scored the game-winner in the third to help the St. Louis Blues take a 2-1 decision over the Dallas Stars.

T.J. Oshie scored the other goal while Chris Mason stopped 24 shots for the Blues, who have won four of their last five and are four points back of both Colorado and Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with four games to play.

Brenden Morrow scored the lone goal and Kari Lehtonen stopped 21 shots for the Stars, who had won three of four coming into the game but saw their slim playoff hopes take a huge hit as the team is five points back of the final spot with just three games to play.

St. Louis took a 2-1 lead on the power play when Colaiacovo sent a backhand from in front as he was falling to the ice that got past Lehtonen at the 8:14 mark of the third period.

Mason finished the third period with five saves to preserve the win for the Blues, and was not tested late though the Stars went with six skaters for the final 1:25 of regulation.

After a scoreless first period, St. Louis got on the board 4:12 into the second when Oshie's wrister got past Lehtonen for a 1-0 lead.

Skating on the power play late in the second, Dallas tied the game as Morrow's wrist shot found the back of the net for his 19th goal of the season.

Game Notes

The Blues won three of four from the Stars in the season series, and have taken six of eight over the last two years...St. Louis hosts Columbus on Monday...Dallas hosts Chicago on Tuesday...Dallas went 1-for-4 on the power play while St. Louis was 1-for-5.

Sexcasinosex Hockey Betting News

<< Caps inch closer to Presidents' Trophy with win over Columbus
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Theodore stopped 34 shots to help the Washington Capitals move a step closer to the Presidents' Trophy with a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Capitals, who have already clinched first p

<< Nets roll over Hornets for rare blowout win
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Douglas-Roberts paced eight New Jersey players in double-figure scoring with 17 points, as the New Jersey Nets put forth perhaps their best effort of the season in a 115-87 romp over the New Orl

<< Brodeur blanks Hurricanes, Devils tie for first in Atlantic
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur recorded his eighth shutout of the season by stopping all 26 shots he faced as the New Jersey Devils took down the Hurricanes, 4-0. Zach Parise, Dainius Zubrus, Patrik Elias and Da

<< Crawford and Hawks down Detroit
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford strengthened his case for Sixth Man of the Year with 29 points and six assists off the bench, and the Atlanta Hawks won their 10th straight home game with a 91-85 victory over the hapless Detroit

<< Rangers beat Panthers, tied for eighth in East
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Lundqvist stopped 19-of-20 shots and the New York Rangers scored four times in the third period to down Florida, 4-1, at BankAtlantic Center. Marc Staal, Brandon Prust, Chris Drury and Marian Gaborik

Bulls stay in playoff hunt, down Bobcats >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose poured in a game-high 26 points, as the Chicago Bulls kept their playoff hopes alive with a 96-88 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center. Kirk Hinrich added 24 points and six r

Rockies' final moves include Street, Francis on DL >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies will start the 2010 season without closer Huston Street and left-handed starter Jeff Francis as both landed on the disabled list Saturday. Colorado will also be without right-han

Heat down T'Wolves, on brink of playoffs >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwayne Wade registered a game-high 39 points on 15-of-27 from the field to lead the Heat to a 97-84 win over the Timberwolves, at the Target Center. Wade also tallied eight rebounds and six assis

Butler, West Virginia's leading scorer, exits with injury >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia's leading scorer, exited Saturday's Final Four matchup with Duke after injuring his left leg in the second half. Down 63-48 with just under nine minutes remaining in regul

Thunder clinch playoff spot by downing Mavs >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant and Jeff Green combined for 45 points and Eric Maynor helped derail a Dallas comeback bid with a three- pointer in the final minute, as the Thunder clinched their first playoff berth since r

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.