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01/28/2012 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby suffered a neck injury along with the concussion that has kept him off the ice since December 5.
The team announced Saturday that Crosby's neck injury is fully healed.
"The diagnosis of Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine specialist based in Los Angeles, is that Sidney Crosby had suffered a neck injury in addition to a concussion. Dr. Bray reports that the neck injury is fully healed," the Penguins said in a statement.
"Those findings will be evaluated by independent specialists over the next few days. The most important goal all along has been Sidney's return to full health, and we are encouraged that progress continues to be made."
Crosby has been out since developing concussion-like symptoms following a December 5 game against Boston.
The 24-year-old missed more than 10 months after suffering a concussion last January, and only returned to action November 21. In eight games played this season, Crosby has two goals and 12 points.
He has been skating recently and participating in on-ice workouts.
<< Stanford downs California in OT
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chiney Ogwumike had 27 points and 18 rebounds
to lift No. 4 Stanford to a 74-71 overtime win over California.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike posted 12 points and nine rebounds while Toni Kokenis added
18 points and four
<< Hagelin wins fastest skater competition
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers won the
fastest skater challenge at the NHL SuperSkills competition.
Skating against Colin Greening of the Ottawa Senators in the rookie race,
Hagelin, who is a me
<< Cousins lifts North over South in Senior Bowl
Mobile, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan State's Kirk Cousins completed 5-of-11
passes for 114 yards, one touchdown and an interception, lifting the North to
a 23-13 victory over the South in the 63rd Senior Bowl.
Wisconsin's Russell Wilson
<< Rams rout 13th-ranked Aztecs
Fort Collins, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Eikmeier netted 19 points, leading
Colorado State to a 77-60 upset of 13th-ranked San Diego State on Saturday.
Will Bell finished with 17 points and five rebounds while Dorian Green had 12
points
Benn wins accuracy competition >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, who had an
appendectomy on January 15, won the accuracy shooting challenge at the NHL
SuperSkills competition.
Shooting for Team Chara, he had the fastest score in the q
Team Alfredsson sweeps skills challenge relay >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team Alfredsson won all three points
available in the skills challenge relay at the NHL SuperSkills competition.
Consists of one-timers, target shooting, passing, puck control and
stickha
Oklahoma upsets No. 22 Kansas State >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Pledger poured in a game-high 30
points and pulled down five rebounds as Oklahoma squeezed past No. 22 Kansas
State, 63-60, on Saturday.
Cameron Clark finished with 11 points on 5-of-9 shootin
Chara breaks his record again in hardest shot >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zdeno Chara broke his own record in the hardest
shot challenge at the NHL SuperSkills competition.
Coming into the event with a record 105.4 mph blast in 2011, his first shot
was a blistering 108.8 to shatte
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.
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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