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02/07/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record with the 117th shutout of his career, as the New Jersey Devils made a first period goal stand up in a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
David Clarkson tallied the only goal for the Devils, who have now won five straight.
The Rangers appeared to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left, but Marian Gaborik crashed into Brodeur and was called for goalie interference, negating Artem Anisimov's potential equalizer.
Henrik Lundqvist was again marvelous in net, stopping 21-of-22 shots, but saw a personal four-game winning streak come to an end. New York, meanwhile, lost for only the second time in its last six games overall.
Brodeur, though, was the story, as the four-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 30 shots, including 15 in the final period, to secure his first shutout since blanking the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 25 of last season.
It looked as if he would be denied the shutout late. With the Rangers net empty and time ticking down, Ryan Callahan wristed a shot from the left circle that Brodeur pushed aside. Gaborik then went into Brodeur, knocking him backwards into the net, while Anisimov buried the putback, only to see it waved off by a penalty.
The Rangers had their chances in the third period and outshot the Devils, 15-1. New York was also 0-for-3 on the power play and is scoreless in its last 17 tries with the extra skater.
The Devils took advantage of a Stu Bickel holding call and cashed in on the power play 8:14 into the opening period. From behind the net Zach Parise found a streaking Clarkson, who beat Lundqvist glove side for his 21st goal of the season.
Clarkson now has five goals in his last five games, while Parise extended his point streak to six games (5g, 3a).
Petr Sykora almost made it a two-goal game late in the first period, but his rocket from the top of the right circle hit the crossbar with time winding down.
The Rangers had a pair of terrific chances in the second period. Shortly into the period Brandon Prust missed the net, while with time ticking down in the stanza Brodeur used the left glove to turn aside a terrific opportunity from Carl Hagelin.
Game Notes
Lundqvist has allowed one goal or fewer in 11 of his last 19 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 27 games this season...The Devils have outscored the opposition 21-12 during their five game win streak.
<< UConn gets road win over Louisville
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Doty had 15 points and No. 3
Connecticut defeated No. 20 Louisville, 56-46, at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday.
Tiffany Hayes and Bria Hartley scored nine points apiece for Connecticut
(22-2
<< No. 2 Notre Dame cruises past Syracuse
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devereaux Peters recorded a double-double with
21 points and 16 rebounds as No. 2 Notre Dame cruised to a 74-55 win over
Syracuse.
Kayla McBride scored 19 points, Skylar Diggins added 11 and Brittany Ma
<< Pacers hang on to beat Jazz
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Collison scored a season-high 25
points and added four rebounds as the Indiana Pacers held off the Utah Jazz,
104-99, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
Utah erased a 21-point third
<< Blue Jackets get Wild
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antoine Vermette scored the eventual game-
winning goal in the second period as the Columbus Blue Jackets topped the
Minnesota Wild, 3-1, at Nationwide Arena.
David Savard had a goal and an assist
James, Wade lead Heat over Cavs >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James had 26 and 24
points, respectively, as the Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-91
at American Airlines Arena.
Chris Bosh added 15 points and nine rebounds for the H
Evansville gets past Creighton >>
Evansville, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenneth Harris scored 15 points and Colt
Ryan had 14 in Evansville's 65-57 upset of No. 17 Creighton on Tuesday.
The Purple Aces (12-12, 7-7 MVC) had lost three of four coming in, but
outscored
Nash lifts Suns over Bucks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Suns saw a 21-point lead evaporate, but
Steve Nash's short jumper with five seconds remaining lifted Phoenix over
Milwaukee, 107-105.
Nash ended with 18 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who have
Clifford's goal the difference in Kings' win over Lightning >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner
midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings skated past the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penne
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.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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