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Bosh, Bargnani lead Raptors over Timberwolves in TorontoBasketball Betting Lines02/24/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani both scored 26 points to lead six double-digit scorers, as the Toronto Raptors hung on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 118-110, at Air Canada Centre. Anthony Parker added 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists for the Raptors, who has won four of its last six outings. Jose Calderon ended with 15 points and 13 helpers, while Jason Kapono added 11 points off the bench in the win. Minnesota was paced by Randy Foye, who finished with 25 points, including five three-pointers. Ryan Gomes ended with 23 points for the Wolves, who have dropped three straight games. Kevin Love added 15 points, while Sebastian Telfair finished with 12 points and Mike Miller grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in defeat. After Miller's jumper tied the game at 84 early in the final quarter, Toronto used a 9-2 run to build a seven-point cushion. Parker's three-point play culminated the spurt with under 10 minutes remaining. Kevin Ollie's jumper with just over 7 1/2 minutes remaining cut the margin to three, 97-94. But the Raptors outscored Minnesota 6-1 in the following minute to extend their lead to eight, 103-95. The Wolves fired back with six consecutive points to cut the gap to two, 103-101, with about 5 1/2 minutes to go. Ahead 105-103, Toronto essentially sealed the win with an 11-3 surge. Parker topped off the run with a trey from the corner with 1 1/2 minutes left. Trailing 6-4 early in the contest, Minnesota took control of the quarter with a 21-7 run to go ahead by 12, 25-13. Love and Gomes combined to score 12 points during the surge, which was capped off with a Foye three-pointer with 5:18 to go. The Timberwolves, who led by as many as 14 in the period, took a 37-25 advantage into the second frame. Down 49-33 with under eight minutes until half, Toronto found their groove and cut the gap to one, 51-50, with a 17-2 spurt. Bargnani tallied eight points during the run, which he topped off with a pair of foul shots. During the less than six-minute surge by the Raptors, Minnesota shot a measly 1-of-9 from the field. But they held onto a 56-52 edge going into the locker room. Bargnani had 13 points in the half on a 4-of-8 shooting performance from the field. Toronto carried its momentum from the end of the first half over into the third period. The Raptors started the third frame with a 13-4 run to take their first lead since early in the first quarter. Calderon stole the ball from Foye and hit Bargnani for a deuce to culminate the spurt. But the Wolves fought back with a surge of their own. Minnesota responded with an 11-2 spurt to take a 71-67 lead with under seven minutes remaining. Foye hit two shots from beyond the arc to start the run, while Gomes capped it with a three-point play and a layup. The Raptors closed the stanza on a strong note and held onto a 84-82 advantage after 36 minutes of play. Game Notes The Raptors went 20-of-21 from the foul line, while the Wolves shot 16-of-19 from the stripe...Minnesota has lost five straight and seven of its last eight at Toronto. It is 3-11 all-time at Air Canada Centre.
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Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Weyinmi Efejuku led five Providence players in double figures with 16 points, as the Friars defeated newly top-ranked Pittsburgh, 81-73, in a Big East battle. Sharaud Curry had 15 points and Jonathan
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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.
Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cardsSportsbooks That Take US Credit Cards for NFL football bettingSportsbooks that take credit cards are not always easy to come by....Everything from credit card companies denying gambling transactions to the fear of chargebacks by customers has slowed down sportsbook credit card transactions by a high percentage. There are however still sportsbooks that take credit cards. When using your credit card it is highly recommended that you try either: MySportsbook.com or Sportsbooks.com. Both sportsbooks have a high rate of accepting credit cards and will save you the time and hassle of looking around the web to make a credit card transaction. |
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