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08/03/2010 - Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, August 7. Race: Nashville 200. Site: Nashville Superspeedway. Track: 1.333-mile concrete surfaced oval. Start time: 9:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 150. Miles: 200. 2009 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
For the first time this year, the Camping World Truck Series will run at Nashville Superspeedway twice in the same season. Nashville picked up a second date for the 2010 truck season when the track's owner, Dover Motorsports, announced last October the closure of its Memphis property.
The series traditionally has competed at Nashville in the summer time. During the first weekend in April, Kyle Busch spent his Sprint Cup off-week by winning the truck event here. He will not compete in Saturday night's race due to his Cup and Nationwide Series obligations at Watkins Glen, NY.
Last Saturday when the trucks ran at Pocono for the first time, Aric Almirola slightly cut into Todd Bodine's points lead after Almirola finished fourth, compared to a 12th-place run for Bodine. With the 25-race season just past its half-way point, Bodine holds a 149-point advantage.
Four-time and defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. continued to tumble in the standings after a 29th-place finish at Pocono. Hornaday dropped to seventh in points (-268).
When the series raced at Nashville last year, Hornaday extended his series record to five consecutive race victories. He became the first driver to win five in a row in one of NASCAR's three national touring series since 1971. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison both did it in the Cup Series in 1971.
Hornaday also won a truck race at Nashville for the first time, as he finally earned his long-awaited Gibson guitar trophy.
"It's cool to look back on it and remember the win," Hornaday said. "I was just so excited to finally get that beautiful Gibson guitar. That is a very cool trophy. The thing about Nashville is that [Kevin Harvick Inc.] has run very well there with both our Truck and Nationwide programs. When we were in Nashville earlier this spring, Kevin and I just missed the set-up by a little. We have notes and are better prepared to go back to Nashville. I know we're going to have a great truck. I hope we have the same result as last year."
Hornaday's sixth and final win during his 2009 championship season came at Nashville. He had been without a victory this season until two weeks ago when he took O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
Thirty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Nashville 200.
<< Rangers to be put to auction Wednesday
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers will be formally put up for
auction Wednesday morning at 8:30 am (ct) in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Ft.
Worth.
There are three known bidders and the winner will then have to be approved
<< Stewart looking to master The Glen again
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday,
August 8. Race: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. Site: Watkins Glen
International. Track: 2.45-mile road course. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps:
90. Miles:
<< Heat visit Celtics in NBA opener, LA on Christmas
NEW YORK (AP) -The NBA will open its season with a battle of Big Threes, then offer up the new-look Miami Heat against Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.The Heat will debut their All-Star trio of Dwyane Wade,
<< Panthers add depth at defense with Weaver signing
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers agreed to terms with
defenseman Mike Weaver on a two-year contract Tuesday.
"Mike is a hard working, high character defenseman who averaged nearly 17
minutes of ice time per ga
Rockies activate Helton from DL >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday reinstated
first baseman Todd Helton from the 15-day disabled list and optioned infielder
Jonathan Herrera to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Helton is batting .246 with a pai
Lions agree with top pick Suh >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions have
reportedly agreed to terms with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the second
overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
MLive.com is reporting that it is a five-year d
Cardinals' Freese done for season >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals learned Tuesday that
rookie third baseman David Freese will miss the remainder of the season due to
a tendon injury in his right ankle that will require surgery.
Freese was original
Heat open season in Boston >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Miami Heat and two-time
defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will both be in action on the first day
of the 2010-11 NBA season, October 26.
The Heat will open the season in Boston aga
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.
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