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02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash celebrated his 38th birthday in style the last time out for the Phoenix Suns, who look to extend their season-high winning streak to four straight games this evening at home versus the Houston Rockets.
Nash posted a game-winning runner in the lane with five seconds left in Tuesday's 107-105 victory at Milwaukee and was one of six players to score in double figures with 18 points and 11 assists. The Suns led by 17 points at halftime and by as many as 21 points before a 27-4 second-half run by the Bucks made things interesting.
Michael Redd faced his former Milwaukee team for the first time and finished with 14 points in a reserve role.
"It was pretty much fun to watch. Mike [Redd] obviously had a huge career here. Trying to be back playing is amazing," Nash said. "For him to come back to Milwaukee under all the things he had to face with his injuries and put on a show like that in the first was exciting for all of us on the bench."
Redd, who signed with the Suns in December, had spent his entire career with Milwaukee, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 578 contests over 11 seasons. Channing Frye also had 14 points, while Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley posted 21 and 19 points, respectively, for Phoenix, which is 4-1 this month and hasn't won four straight since Feb. 23-28, 2011. The Suns are 5-2 in the past seven games.
Grant Hill contributed 13 points in a winning effort and Josh Childress had a game-high tying 12 rebounds off the bench, the most in the NBA this season by a bench player that did not score in the game.
The Suns, owners of a 5-6 record in the desert, are playing just their second home game over a nine-game stretch and will begin a three-game road trip Saturday against the Kings, Warriors and Nuggets. A win tonight would put the Suns within two games of .500 for the first time since Jan. 12 (4-6).
Meanwhile, Houston will continue a six-game road trip Thursday and improved to 2-1 on the swing with last night's 103-96 win at Portland.
Goran Dragic filled in for an injured Kyle Lowry and scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, while Chase Budinger had 22 points to lead the Rockets, who got a season-high 66 points from their bench on 24-for-43 shooting (.558), won for the 12th time in the past 16 games and pushed their road ledger to 5-8 this season.
"Our bench was fantastic. You have to reward the guys who are playing well," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said. "They deserved to finish the game."
Lowry left the game late in the third quarter with a strained right elbow and finished the contest with 12 points. He is questionable for tonight. Courtney Lee and Luis Scola scored 16 and 12 points, respectively, in the win. The Rockets still have Golden State and Memphis to play on the trek.
In other Rockets news, the NBA announced Wednesday that Houston will host the 2013 All-Star game.
"I am thrilled the Rockets and the City of Houston have once again brought NBA All-Star to Toyota Center," said Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. "The 2006 All-Star Game in Houston was a tremendous success and we plan to set the bar even higher in 2013. We take great pride in Toyota Center's standing as one of the premier venues in the country and are honored to be the first arena in Texas to host the game for a second time."
Houston just beat Phoenix, 99-81, last Friday at home thanks to Kevin Martin's game-high 16 points. Martin led seven players in double figures for the Rockets, who have won two in a row against the Suns since losing the previous seven meetings between the teams. Phoenix, however, has won four in a row and 10 of the past 14 encounters with Houston in the Valley of the Sun.
<< Thunder continue road trip at Sacramento
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder have been moving
along quite steadily this season and will try to keep it that way when they
resume a five-game road trip tonight against the Sacramento Kings.
Oklahoma City
<< Celtics, Lakers renew rivalry in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pro basketball's most storied rivalry resumes in Beantown
on Thursday, when the streaking Boston Celtics aim to complete a perfect five-
game homestand versus the despised Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics (17) and Lake
<< Rangers try to rebound against Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to rebound from a
controversial loss when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's
battle at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers dropped a 1-0 regulation decision Tuesday against the
<< Habs aim to make it three straight in clash with Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to post their longest
winning streak in over three months when they visit the New York Islanders
tonight at Nassau Coliseum.
The Canadiens have recorded recent home wins over Winnipeg and Pi
Wings, Leafs to meet in 2013 Winter Classic at the Big House >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs
will play in the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement Thursday at Comerica Park
in Detroit,
Whiting seeks another Run for the Roses >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been 20 years since trainer Lynn
Whiting saddled longshot colt Lil E. Tee to win the 118th Kentucky Derby. The
Midwest conditioner has another three-year-old in his stable at Oaklawn Park
giving
U.S. will host friendly against Brazil in May >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. men's national team will host five-
time World Cup champion Brazil in a friendly on May 30 in Landover, Md. during
final preparations for 2014 World Cup qualifying.
The U.S. opened the year with win
Ticats reach deals with pair of receivers >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tiger-Cats signed Bakari Grant to a
contract extension that will keep the receiver in Hamilton through the 2014
season.
Grant caught 42 passes for 507 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie l
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.
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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