12/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup between the last two Stanley Cup champions is on tap tonight in the Motor City, as the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Anaheim Ducks to Joe Louis Arena.
The Ducks won it all in 2007 and defeated Detroit in the Western Conference finals that year. However, the Red Wings were world champions last spring, earning their fourth Cup in 11 seasons.
The teams met back on October 29 in Anaheim and the Ducks won that test, 5-4, on Francois Beauchemin's goal in overtime. Beauchemin won't be a factor in tonight's game, however, as he suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in a November 14 game against Nashville.
The home team has won eight of the last 10 regular-season meetings between the Red Wings and Ducks. Anaheim has won two straight and three of four in the series, but has just two wins in its last 20 trips to the Joe.
The Ducks come into this evening's test on a hot streak, having won four straight and five of their last seven outings. Anaheim's latest triumph came Sunday evening at Carolina, as Rob Niedermayer netted a pair of third-period goals to lead the Ducks to a 4-1 victory at RBC Center.
Ryan Getzlaf added a goal and two assists and Teemu Selanne also tallied for the Ducks. Getzlaf extended his point streak to eight games and has four goals and eight assists during that run.
Jonas Hiller won his third straight start with a 36-save performance, but is expected to return to a backup role as No. 1 netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere is slated to start tonight's test. Giguere, who is 8-7-2 on the season, missed the last two games while tending to family concerns in Montreal.
The Ducks have a solid 7-2-1 record as the visiting team this season and are playing the middle test of three-game road trip tonight. Anaheim will complete the swing Wednesday in Chicago.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four games and are coming off Saturday's 4-1 loss in Boston. David Krejci finished with a goal and an assist, as the Bruins rolled to the easy win at TD Banknorth Garden.
Jiri Hudler had the only goal for the Red Wings, who have lost three of four. Ty Conklin got the start in net for Detroit and gave up three goals on just nine shots. Chris Osgood came in as a replacement and made nine saves.
Boston never trailed in the contest, as it scored the game's first three goals.
Tonight's test marks the opener of a four-game homestand for the Red Wings, who are 5-2-2 as the host this year. Detroit will also welcome Vancouver, Chicago and Calgary to Motown during the residency.
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at the Staples Cen
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Kiffin introduced as coach of Vols >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee made it official
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Sale of Curlin disallowed >>
Frankfort, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The acquisition of the remaining 20-percent
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Monday.
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.
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