Texas A&M basketball signee dies

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

05/17/2010 - College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas A&M men's basketball recruit Tobi Oyedeji died from injuries he sustained in a car accident.

The 6-foot-9 power forward from Houston was set to play for the Aggies next season.

"The world has lost a great kid today," said Aggies head coach Mark Turgeon. "Tobi epitomized the term student-athlete. He was a very good student. He worked hard in the classrooms and on the basketball court and he was a terrific basketball player. This is difficult to understand and today is a very sad day. My heart aches for his mom and dad. Tobi was an only child and I would like everyone to pray for Tobi's parents."

After his senior season, Oyedeji was named to the All-Greater Houston team.

Breeederscup NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Milito signs Barca extension
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012, it was announced on Monday. The 29-year-old Milito also has an option for an

<< Caps sign 2009 first-round pick
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have signed center Marcus Johansson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansson was selected by Washington with the 24th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 19

<< Manzano seeks clarification from UEFA
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano has urged UEFA to respect what happens on the pitch following suggestions that his side may be denied entry into European competition next season. Mallorca have qualified

<< Redskins sign veteran DL Holliday
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed veteran defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday. Holliday has 12 years of NFL service, most recently suiting up for the Denver Broncos in 2009 when he accumulated five sac

<< Zenden commits to Sunderland for another season
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Dutch midfielder Boudewijn Zenden has penned a new one-year contract to remain with Sunderland until the end of next season. The 33-year-old made just two starts for the Black Cats du

Advocaat set to take charge of Russia >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dick Advocaat is set to be announced as the new coach of Russia, it was confirmed on Monday. Advocaat surprisingly resigned as Belgium coach last month after he spent just six months on the job, but now h

Pak rises to No. 22 in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Se Ri Pak won the rain-shortened Bell Micro LPGA Classic in a playoff Sunday and vaulted 26 places to No. 22 in the world rankings for women's golf. Pak outlasted Brittany Lincicome and Suzann Pe

This Week in Golf - May 20th through May 23rd >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, Irving, Texas - Rory Sabbatini won last year's Byron Nelson Championship for his first PGA Tour title since another Texas t

Diamondbacks acquire RHP Rivera from Indians >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired relief pitcher Saul Rivera from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations. Rivera will be added to the major-league roster. To make room

Simon withdraws from Roland Garros >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French favorite Gilles Simon will not play in the 2010 French Open. The world No. 32 Simon, who reached the third round at the French last year, said he is not in shape since returning from a knee injury

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.