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10/21/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing and Denver Broncos kick returner/punt returner Eddie Royal have been selected as the AFC's top players for Week 6 of the NFL season.
Brady helped engineer a record performance for the Patriots this past Sunday in a 59-0 blowout of Tennessee. New England set franchise marks in points scored, yards (619) and margin of victory, which was also the largest in the league since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
The quarterback himself earned the weekly offensive award, his 14th such career honor, for his part in the shellacking, throwing five touchdown passes in the second quarter alone to set an NFL record. He threw for 380 yards and six TDs in all on 29-of-34 attempts. His 345 passing yards in the first half set a club record and the five first-half TDs tied the franchise mark.
Cushing captured the defensive award after registering nine tackles, one interception, forcing two fumbles and defending two passes in a 28-17 win over Cincinnati. It was the Southern California product's first career interception in his rookie season, and led to his first career weekly honor. Cushing leads the Texans in tackles with 48 -- a number that also heads the list of all rookies in 2009.
Royal earned special teams honors for returning both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in Denver's 34-23 triumph over division-rival San Diego on Monday night. The Broncos wideout became only the 11th player in league history to return both a punt and kickoff for TDs in the same game. Royal totaled 253 return yards in all to set a team record, with 158 coming on kick returns and 77 on punt returns.
<< Cardinals' Pujols has successful surgery
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols
underwent a successful arthroscopic debridement of bone spurs in his right
elbow Wednesday morning.
The procedure, which also included the removal of bone c
<< Bologna sacks Papadopulo
Bologna, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Struggling Bologna have fired coach Giuseppe
Papadopulo after winning only one of their first eight Serie A games this
season.
Former player Franco Colomba has been named as Papadopulo's successor hav
<< Pugh pens Potters extension
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Manchester United midfielder
Danny Pugh has penned a one-year contract extension with Stoke City that will
keep him at the Britannia Stadium until the summer of 2012.
The 27-year-old accep
<< Wilkie suffers injury setback
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United captain Lee Wilkie has been
rocked by suffering yet another injury setback.
The 29-year-old was injured during training, with the Terrors fearing that
Wilkie has damaged his knee as well
Magic C Foyle has knee surgery >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Magic center Adonal Foyle underwent
arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
The 34-year-old has not played in any of Orlando's preseason games, and the
team said his
Packers bring back Ahman Green; place Wynn on IR >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers brought back a
familiar face Wednesday with the signing of running back Ahman Green.
Green played seven seasons in Green Bay from 2000 to 2006 which included four
straight trip
Cuban provides the voice of reason >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I get the feeling NBA commissioner David Stern cringes
every time Mark Cuban opens his mouth.
The Mavericks owner strikes me as a contrarian, a guy who pulls no punches and
isn't all that interested in the political correc
Awful umpiring continues to be the story of the postseason >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not since referee Danny Davis cost the British Bulldogs the
WWF Tag Team Championship have I seen as bad an officiating job as has been
witnessed in this American League Championship Series.
If I did not know any better, I
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.
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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