Arena fills out MLS All-Star roster

Soccer Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - MLS commissioner Don Garber and MLS All-Star Team head coach Bruce Arena of the Los Angeles Galaxy made their selections to complete the 23-man 2010 MLS All-Star roster on Monday.

The MLS All-Stars will take on Manchester United in the 2010 MLS All-Star game on July 28 in Houston, with local favorites Brian Ching and Brad Davis of the Dynamo named among the reserves.

Ching and D.C. United striker Jaime Moreno were the two players named as commissioner's selections, while Arena picked the rest of the roster, which includes the following players:

Goalkeepers: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire) and Heath Pearce (FC Dallas).

Midfielders: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union), David Ferreira (FC Dallas), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution) and Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids).

Forward: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls).

That group will join the 2010 MLS All-Star First XI, which features the following players:

Goalkeeper: Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Defenders: Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake).

Midfielders: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew).

Forwards: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Sportsboook Soccer Betting News

<< Cho named new Blazers general manager
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have named Rich Cho as the team's new general manager. No financial terms of the deal were announced. Cho had spent the past nine seasons as assistant GM of the Seattle

<< Zenyatta continues in first, Life At Ten enters NTRA Poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the 2010 thoroughbred racing season enters the heart of the summer programs, Zenyatta remains the leader in the NTRA National Poll for week 20. The top 10 features one new addition with five- year-ol

<< NL West: Injuries piling up in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Imagine the San Diego Padres trying to stay atop the NL West standings without Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley and Yorvit Torrealba. The Los Angeles Dodgers would certainly enjoy seeing that happen, but they're the one

<< Hurricanes sign C Nash
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have signed center Riley Nash to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will pay Nash $550,000 in 2010-11, $600,000 in 2011-12 and $700,000 in 2012-13 at the NHL level. H

<< Wrong year for Life At Ten to be so good
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the two leading thoroughbreds in training are also the top female racehorses in the country, it becomes difficult for any other filly or mare to get recognized. This is the situation that confronts fi

Miyazato replaces Kerr as women's No. 1 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato has replaced Cristie Kerr atop the world rankings for women's golf. The two players are just about tied, with Miyazato holding a lead of 0.0006 average points over Kerr. Kerr snatched t

Rays sign OF Baldelli to minor league deal >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays signed veteran outfielder Rocco Baldelli to a minor league contract on Monday and assigned him to Single-A Charlotte. The 28-year-old was taken with the sixth overall pick b

Galarraga rejoins Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have recalled pitcher Armando Galarraga from Triple-A Toledo. The right-hander was sent to the minor leagues on July 7 following his start the day before against Baltimore, when he

Olaru among winners in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania was among the first-round winners Monday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Olaru rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's Kathrin Woerle on the red

Bills sign third round draft pick Carrington >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills signed rookie defensive end Alex Carrington to a four-year contract on Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Carrington was selected in the third round, 72nd overall,

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.