Brees lifts Saints over Chargers

Football Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Brees completed 18-of-27 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, as the New Orleans Saints defeated the San Diego Chargers, 36-21, in the third preseason outing for each team from the Louisiana Superdome.

Patrick Ramsey connected on 10-of-18 passes for 191 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for the Saints, who improved to 2-1 in the preseason.

Chris Ivory rushed the ball 11 times for 45 yards and caught a 76-yard TD pass. Pierre Thomas carried the ball seven times for 41 yards.

Reggie Bush caught seven passes for 70 yards. Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem each had a receiving touchdown for New Orleans, which got three field goals from Garrett Hartley.

Philip Rivers connected on 16-of-27 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers, who fell to 1-2 in the preseason. Billy Volek threw a pair of interceptions and also ran in a touchdown.

Rookie Ryan Mathews rushed for 43 yards on 13 carries, while Jacob Hester ran for a TD.

Antonio Gates caught five passes for 66 yards, while Malcom Floyd hauled in four passes for 51 yards and a score.

Trailing 29-21 late in the fourth quarter, Volek led San Diego's offense down to the New Orleans 26. Leigh Torrence, though, picked off Volek's pass and returned it 87 yards the other way for a touchdown to seal the win for the Saints.

Wwwstarluck Football Betting News

<< Jays top Tigers in 11 on Hill's base hit
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Hill drove in the game-winning run with a single in the 11th inning, as the Toronto Blue Jays snuck past the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, in the second test of a four-game series at Rogers Centre. Adam Lind

<< Garcia pitches White Sox past Yankees
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Pierzynski and Omar Vizquel both knocked in two runs to support a solid outing from Freddy Garcia, as the Chicago White Sox beat New York, 9-4, in the opener of a three-game series between playoff contenders

<< Oilers G Khabibulin guilty of DUI
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edmonton Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has been found guilty on three charges related to driving under the influence and speeding in Scottsdale City Court on Friday. According to the Edmonton Journal,

<< Brewers use six-run seventh to beat Pirates
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alcides Escobar's two-run triple sparked a six-run seventh inning as the Milwaukee Brewers took a 7-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game set. Ryan Braun and Corey Hart ea

<< Pujols, Garcia help Cardinals beat Nationals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols hit career home run No. 401 and rookie Jaime Garcia picked up his 12th win of the season as the Cardinals righted the ship with a 4-2 victory against the Nationals. Matt Holliday also hom

Young, Murphy help Texas down Oakland >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young and David Murphy each knocked in two runs as Texas topped Oakland, 7-3, in the opener of a three-game series. Josh Hamilton added three hits and an RBI while Elvis Andrus and Vladi

Late TD helps Eagles nip Chiefs >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Kafka threw the game-winning 18-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper with 23 seconds left to lift Philadelphia to a 20-17 come from behind win over Kansas City in preseason action at Arrowhead Stadium

Carolina Panthers 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's hard to view the Carolina Panthers as anything but a team in limbo, and it's difficult to see 2010 as anything but a way station that precedes the organization's real future. Start with the head coach, John Fox, who i

Busch holds off Bodine for Chicagoland truck win >>
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch won his fourth consecutive NASCAR national touring series race by taking Friday night's EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch, who won the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series

Jets LB Pace sidelined, no timetable for return >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace suffered a foot injury in Friday's preseason game against the Washington Redskins that head coach Rex Ryan said will keep him out of action for "a couple

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

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.