Revs, Goats desperate for points in Friday fixture

Soccer Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution travel to take on Chivas USA on Friday night in a Major League Soccer fixture between two clubs desperate for points.

Both teams sit at or near the bottom of their respective conferences, and with the regular season winding down, the time is now to make a move or be on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

The Revs (7-12-3) are third-from-the bottom in the Eastern table, but are coming off a confidence-boosting 3-1 win at home vs. Seattle this past weekend. Not only did New England earn the full points on their home turf, but they did so against a club that had been unbeaten in seven league fixtures.

"I think it speaks for itself after the week we've had," New England coach Steve Nicol said after the win. "We basically got robbed the three points last weekend [in a 2-1 loss vs. Philadelphia]. We were real unfortunate on Wednesday in [a 2-1 loss to Morelia in the SuperLiga] final. But to come back from those two games, the third game in eight days, and go about it the way we did I think says all we need to know about the players and their attitude and the commitment and how they stick together. It was fantastic."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak in league play, and gave the revs hope that they could make a run over their final eight games.

Chivas USA (6-12-4), on the other hand, is coming off a potentially demoralizing 3-0 loss at Colorado.

"[The loss to Colorado] is going to be a tough game to regroup from, but we will and look forward to [Friday's game vs. New England]," Chivas USA coach Martin Vasquez told mlssoccer.com.

The Goats, who are in last in the Western table, know they must run the table over their last eight league fixtures to have any chance at playing in the second season.

"We have to win the next eight games," Chivas USA's Mariano Trujillo told mlssoccer.com. "We still have a chance to make it to the playoffs if we win. We have to do our jobs."

The Goats could be without midfielder Blair Gavin, defender Jonathan Bornstein and forward Giancarlo Maldonado because of injuries, while new England will be without forwards Zak Boggs and Taylor Twellman for the same reason. Midfielder Jason Griffiths and forward Edgaras Jankauskas are listed as doubtful, while defender Cory Gibbs is probable with an ankle injury.

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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.