O'Neal ready to "Win a ring for The King"
Basketball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 -
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaquille O'Neal met the media Thursday in
Cleveland, a week after he was traded to the Cavaliers from the Phoenix Suns,
and unveiled a new motto in his attempt to capture another NBA title.
"Win a ring for The King," O'Neal said in reference to his new pairing with
reigning MVP LeBron James.
O'Neal has captured four NBA titles -- three with the Los Angeles Lakers and
Kobe Bryant and one with the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade. He appeared intent on
winning another with a different NBA superstar by his side.
"They say things happen in threes," O'Neal remarked. "I won with Kobe and with
the great Dwyane Wade."
O'Neal, however, couldn't get it done with Steve Nash and the Suns, who sent
the 15-time All-Star to Cleveland in exchange for center Ben Wallace, guard
Sasha Pavlovic, Cleveland's second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and cash
considerations.
In the last year of his contract, O'Neal is not the dominant force he once was
from earlier in his career, when he won the MVP Award in 2000 and was the NBA
Finals MVP in each of his three title runs with the Lakers from 2000-02.
However, the 37-year-old showed signs of rejuvenation last year, putting up
17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games for the Suns, who just missed out on
the postseason.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were unable to reach the NBA Finals after posting
the best record in the regular season at 66-16. They were eliminated by the
Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals.
"I'm not going to do it by myself, LeBron's not going to do it by himself,"
O'Neal stated. "It takes a team, an organization.
"I'm just here to do my part and help a damn good team get over the hump. It's
LeBron's team. I'm here. He's the captain. I'm here to protect The King."
Over his illustrious 17-year career with Orlando, LA, Miami and Phoenix,
O'Neal has logged 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, to go
along with accolades such as: the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year and two
scoring titles.
<< Materazzi signs three-year extension with Inter
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Marco Materazzi has signed a three-
year contract extension with Inter Milan.
Materazzi, 35, had 12 months remaining on his existing deal but is now under
contract at the San Siro until 2012.
<< Altidore among seven added to U.S. Gold Cup team
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Forward Conor Casey, midfielders
<< Rockies deal Baker to Cubs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies traded infielder Jeff Baker
to the Chicago Cubs Thursday in exchange for minor league pitcher Alberto
Alburquerque.
The Rockies had placed Baker on the 15-day disabled list with a
<< Sister Act 4: Serena, Venus to meet in fourth Wimbledon final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Serena Williams and third-
seeded Venus Williams will square off in Saturday's ladies' final at
Wimbledon, where Venus topped Serena in last year's third all-Williams finale
at the All England
<< Hossa's Cup quest leads him to Chicago
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's every NHL player's dream to win a
Stanley Cup title, and Marian Hossa is certainly no exception.
Over the past few years, Hossa's travels have taken him from Atlanta to
Pittsburgh to Detroit, and desp
Coyotes ink D Aucoin >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes brought in veteran
defenseman Adrian Aucoin on a one-year contract Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed per team policy.
Aucoin, whose departure from Calgary was ea
Kaymer off to record-tying start in France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Kaymer got off to a flying start
Thursday as he fired a nine-under 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the
first round of the Open de France.
Kaymer matched the course record at Le Golf Na
Longwood gives hoop's coach Gillian multi-year extension >>
Farmville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longwood University has extended the
contract of men's basketball head coach Mike Gillian. Financial terms were
not released but the extension covers multiple years.
The Lancers were 17-14 la
Gudjohnsen expects to leave Barca >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen is
content to wait on a decision over where he will be playing his football next
season.
The 30-year-old is expected to exit the Camp Nou this summer, but his age
Twins demote Henn, to recall Duensing >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have assigned pitcher
Sean Henn outright to Triple-A Rochester and plan to recall left-hander Brian
Duensing prior to Friday's game with the Detroit Tigers.
Henn, who signed as a mi
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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.
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