Fighting Irish hope to calm Red Storm

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/03/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes will collide in New York City this afternoon, as the St. John's Red Storm welcomes the seventh- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to town.

Notre Dame carries a four-game win streak into this contest, and the squad is fresh off a 92-82 victory over DePaul on Wednesday in the league opener. The Fighting Irish, who are 10-2 overall, have won their only two true road games to date. Their lone losses have come on neutral courts to top-ranked North Carolina and Ohio State.

As for St. John's, it has suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 9-4 overall. Clearly, the team has been able to knock off the weak and mediocre opponents on the schedule, but clubs from major conferences have gotten the better of the Red Storm. On Wednesday, they opened conference play with an ugly loss to Providence, 75-54.

Notre Dame owns an 18-14 series lead over St. John's, which includes wins in three of the last four meetings.

Reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody has been dominant as expected for Notre Dame this season. He has led the squad in scoring and rebounding in each of the past five outings and is averaging 23.0 ppg on 51.5 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 12.4 rpg. Harangody doesn't have to carry the scoring load alone, however, as there are other talented performers who have proven to be consistent contributors. Kyle McAlarney is one of the nation's best pure shooters, and he is scoring 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 46.4 percent accuracy from three-point range. Ryan Ayers provides 13.0 ppg, and Tory Jackson checks in with 11.3 ppg and 71 assists. The Fighting Irish are generating 83.9 ppg while holding foes to 66.3 ppg. In the 10-point victory over DePaul last time out, Notre Dame shot 52.2 percent from the field and finished with 20 assists against nine turnovers. The Irish got 26 points and 16 rebounds from Harangody, and all five starters scored in double figures.

St. John's is scoring 71.1 ppg this season while allowing 63.3 ppg to the opposition, but the three straight losses by 14 or more points suggests that the squad isn't nearly as good as the record indicates. The leading scorer for the Red Storm is Anthony Mason Jr., as he is netting 14.0 ppg. Pars Horne checks in with 12.9 ppg, and D.J. Kennedy provides 12.5 ppg. Rounding out a foursome of double-digit scorers is Sean Evans with 10.6 ppg. In the lopsided loss to Providence on Wednesday, St. John's shot 35.4 percent from the field, including 2-of-17 from three-point range. Also, the squad misfired on eight of the 14 free throws it attempts and finished with 16 turnovers and six assists. Horne and Evans tallied 16 points apiece in the setback, and Evans ripped down 10 rebounds. As for Quincy Roberts, he contributed 12 points, although his 6- of-19 showing from the floor was far from impressive.

Dasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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.