<< Athletics select contract of Gonzalez, option Petit
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics purchased the contract of pitcher Gio Gonzalez from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. The lefty made hit his major league-debut in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jay

<< Span, Twins pull away from Mariners to avoid sweep
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denard Span drove in four runs and had three hits, and the Minnesota Twins salvaged the finale of a three-game set with a 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. Minnesota entered this series having won sev

<< Nearly perfect: Karstens outduels Big Unit
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Karstens took a perfect game into the eighth inning before surrendering a double to Chris Young with two outs, but recovered to throw a two-hit shutout in Pittsburgh's 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamond

<< Clips acquire F Novak from Rockets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers acquired forward Steve Novak from the Houston Rockets Wednesday. In return, Houston will have the option to exchange second round picks with the Clippers in 2011. No

Rangers reinstate Benoit from DL, outright Roberts >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers reinstated pitcher Joaquin Benoit from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. The club also outrighted infielder Ryan Roberts to Triple-A Oklahoma. Benoit was placed on the d

Pujols slams Cards past Dodgers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols was 4-for-4 with a grand slam, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the middle contest of a three-game set from Busch Stadium. Ryan Ludwick

Rangers' Murphy leaves game early >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder David Murphy left Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees with a sprained ligament in his right knee after a collision at home plate with New York catcher Ivan Rodrigu

Pudge leaves Yankees game >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez left Wednesday's 5-3 victory over Texas after a collision at home plate with the Rangers' David Murphy. Rodriguez's injury is listed as a bruised right knee.

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.

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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.