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07/20/2010 - Edmonton, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, July 25. Race: Honda Indy Edmonton. Site: City Centre Raceway. Track: 1.96-mile, 14-turn temporary street/airport course. Start Time: 6:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 95. Miles: 186.2. 2009 winner: Will Power. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
For the second straight week, the IZOD IndyCar Series runs in Canada with the Honda Indy Edmonton at City Centre Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. This will be third year the series competes at the 1.96-mile, 14-turn temporary street/airport course.
After his victory in last Sunday's race at Toronto, Team Penske's Will Power increased his lead to 42 points over Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver and defending series champion Dario Franchitti. Power also won earlier this month at Watkins Glen, NY.
Once again, Power will have the opportunity to win a series record-tying third consecutive race. The Australian driver won the first two races this season -- Sao Paulo, Brazil and St. Petersburg, FL. If Power takes Edmonton, he will join Kenny Brack (1998), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Scott Dixon (2007) as those drivers who recorded three consecutive victories.
"I believe if you're put in that position, you should be winning," Power said. "You're given the equipment to win. I've been given a full-time ride in one of the best teams in the series. To repay them, you've got to win."
Power notched his first career IndyCar win in last year's race at Edmonton. He started on the pole and led 90 of 95 laps, relinquishing the top position only when he pitted. Power held a one-second lead over his teammate Helio Castroneves before the race ended under caution for an incident involving Tomas Scheckter with less than two laps remaining.
All four of Power's wins this year have come on road/street courses. After Edmonton, the Mid-Ohio and Sonoma, CA road courses are the next two races on the schedule before the series concludes its season with Chicagoland, Kentucky, Motegi, Japan and Homestead, FL -- all of which are 1.5-mile ovals.
"I know it's going to be a tough championship to win," Power said. "I was aware coming into the season that I had lack of experience on mile-and-a-half ovals. I think the only place it really showed was Kansas, where I was very cautious and just finished the race [12th]. Everywhere else, I felt like I could have challenged for the win.
"I want to win an oval race before the year's out. I've been knocking on the door, so I think that may come."
Dixon won the inaugural race at Edmonton in 2008, the same year he clinched his second series title. The Ganassi driver currently sits third in points (-78).
<< Will the Edwards-Keselowski feud boil over to ORP?
Clermont, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday,
July 24. Race: Kroger 200. Site: O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Track:
0.686-mile oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 137.2. 2009
winner: Carl Ed
<< Johnson aiming for fourth Brickyard 400 win
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday,
July 25. Race: Brickyard 400. Site: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Track: 2.5-
mile rectangle. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 160. Miles: 400. 2009
winner: Jimmie Joh
<< Thompson trumps Spieth for amateur honors at U.S. Junior
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Thompson posted a six-under 66 on Tuesday to
earn medalist honors after the second round of stroke play at the U.S. Junior
Amateur Championship.
Thompson finished at 10-under 134 at Egypt Valley Country Clu
<< UIC's Collins announces retirement
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime men's head basketball coach Jimmy
Collins announced his retirement Tuesday after 14 years at the University of
Illinois at Chicago.
The move is effective August 31, 2010 and UIC director o
Malisse advances, Tipsarevic upset in Atlanta >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded Xavier Malisse was a straight-
set winner, while fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic was an upset victim in
Tuesday's first-round action at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.
The Belgian Mali
NCAA probe on agent dealings extends to Alabama >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA's investigation into possible
improper dealings with sports agents has reportedly reached the University of
Alabama.
A number of schools have had athletes' names surface in an increasi
Mora, Francis help Marlins rout Rockies >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle
and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies
dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series
at Sun
Mora, Francis help Rockies rout Marlins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle
and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies
dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series
at Sun
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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