Allen's late heroics leads Boston over Washington

Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Allen hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 17.1 seconds left in regulation to lift Boston to an 86-83 comeback victory over Washington at TD Garden.

Allen ended with a game-high 25 points, while Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the Celtics, who have won four straight on the heels of a 1-3 stretch.

Al Thornton led the Wizards with 24 points and 11 rebounds but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Andray Blatche posted 23 points and nine boards for the Wizards, losers of three straight.

Boston rallied from a 79-66 deficit with 6:11 remaining by scoring 10 straight points, as Pierce's jumper made it a three-point game with 2:57 to play.

McGee's alley-oop slam did little to curb the Celtics' momentum, as a Kevin Garnett free throw and Rondo layup preceded Allen's three-pointer from the left that suddenly gave the hosts a 82-81 lead.

Randy Foye gave Washington the lead again with 1:17 to play, and after unsuccessful trips from both teams, Allen found himself open on the right side and drained a go-ahead three with 17.1 seconds on the clock.

Blatche was short on a shot inside the lane, and Washington knocked the carom out of bounds. Garnett's 1-for-2 trip to the foul line with 5.8 ticks left kept the Wizards' hope alive, but Thornton's open three from the left wing hit all iron to end the game.

The Celtics shot a meager 35.0 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 25-19 at the end of the opening quarter and 44-38 at halftime.

Washington led by as many as 11 in the third and took a 66-62 cushion into the final frame, which the Wizards began on a 9-2 run to push their lead to double digits again.

Game Notes

Boston has won six against the Wizards, who received 13 points from JaVale McGee...Kendrick Perkins totaled 12 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who ended up shooting 41.1 percent from the floor...Garnett missed all seven of his field goal attempts and ended with eight points and 10 rebounds...Washington made 1-of-11 from three-point range.

Wwwevoice Basketball Betting News

<< Deslauriers, Oilers blank Devils
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season to help the Edmonton Oilers take a 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils at Rexall Place. Gilbert Brule and Marc Pouliot each had a

<< Chappell out as coach at Central Arkansas
Conway, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Central Arkansas fired head men's basketball coach Rand Chappell and his staff on Sunday. The move came a day after the Bears completed their season with a mark of 9-21 overall, including 3

<< Lady Vols down Kentucky for SEC title
Duluth, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shekinna Stricklen poured in 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, as fourth-ranked Tennessee defeated Kentucky in the SEC title game. Kelly Cain added 11 points for the Lady Vols (30-2), who completed thei

<< Wizards-Celtics, Box
WASHINGTON (83)Thornton 10-17 3-5 24, Blatche 10-20 3-3 23, McGee 2-3 9-10 13, Foye 3-14 3-3 9, Miller 3-7 2-3 8, Singleton 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 0-1 0-0 0, Boykins 1-2 0-0 2, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Oberto 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-68 20-24 83.BOSTON (86)Pierce 6-

<< Canadiens-Ducks Sum
Montreal 0 1 2 0-4Anaheim 3 0 0 0-3Montreal won shootout 2-1First Period-1, Anaheim, Perry 23 (Getzlaf, Ward), 8:54. 2, Anaheim, Visnovsky 11, 12:54 (pp). 3, Anaheim, Niedermayer 8 (Getzlaf, Wisniewski), 19:07.Second Period-4, Montreal, Pleka

Gray, Gonzaga advance to WCC tourney final >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gray scored a game-high 18 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds, as No. 18 Gonzaga posted a 77-62 victory over Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournam

Montreal rallies late, downs Ducks in SO >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec fired the game-winning wrister in the shootout, and the Montreal Canadiens used a late surge in regulation and a controversial goal in the shootout to edge the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, at Honda C

BC Lions extend QB Printers >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The BC Lions announced Sunday that the team has signed quarterback Casey Printers to a contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Casey has demonstrated that he's not only a gifted and ex

Twins closer Nathan to undergo tests on elbow >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan traveled back to Minnesota on Sunday to undergo an MRI and CT scan on his surgically repaired right elbow. Nathan felt tightness in the elbow on Saturday against Boston

Patriot League Tournament Recaps >>
Easton, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Mintz hit the go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds left and finished with 14 points, as Lafayette held on for a 66-63 win over Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinal. Jim Mower had a team-high 17 poi

MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

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.