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04/30/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Mayfair carded his second straight four-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead over Angel Cabrera after two rounds of the Quail Hollow Championship.
Mayfair, who had to Monday-qualify his way into the event, completed 36 holes at eight-under-par 136.
Cabrera, whose two PGA Tour wins are both major championships, fired a five- under 67 to finish two rounds at minus-seven.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson continued his solid play, as he posted a four- under 68 to move into a share of third place at six-under-par 138. He stands alongside J.P. Hayes (64), Paul Goydos (70) and Dustin Johnson (65).
However, the big story on Friday was Tiger Woods, who missed the cut for just the sixth time as a professional.
Woods, the 2007 champion, had never finished outside the top 11 in four previous starts at this event. After opening with a two-over 74, Woods needed to pick up one stroke to make the cut, as the cut line fell at plus-one. However, he struggled to a seven-over 79 at Quail Hollow.
That left him at plus-nine for the tournament, eight strokes over the cut line. His 79 included a 43 on the back nine, matching his worst nine-hole score as a professional.
"I didn't play well, and more importantly my short game wasn't very good," said Woods. "The 10th was a pretty big deflator because I hit a three-wood there and missed clearing the bunker by about a foot and ended up making bogey on a hole that I should have made a birdie, so that hurt a lot."
Woods missed the cut last year at the British Open, but this was his first missed cut in a non-major since the 2005 FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney.
Mayfair played the back nine first at Quail Hollow and opened with a birdie on the 10th. He also birdied 13 and 16 to move to seven-under.
However, Mayfair stumbled to a bogey on the 18th and another on the second to slide down the leaderboard. He fought back with birdies on the third and fifth, but tripped to another bogey at the par-three sixth.
Mayfair found a bunker with his approach to the par-five seventh. He blasted to 10 feet and sank the birdie effort to get to seven-under. At the ninth, Mayfair's last, he poured in a 15-footer for birdie and the outright lead.
"I made two really good putts there," Mayfair said of his last two birdie efforts. "I'm playing well, and I'm in good position for the weekend."
This is the first time Mayfair has held the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill. He has won two of the previous six times he has held a piece of the 36-hole lead.
Cabrera, who played alongside Woods and Stewart Cink, bogeyed the third, but flew up the leaderboard from there. After a birdie on the fifth, he made eagle on the par-five seventh.
The Argentine birdied eight and nine to make the turn at minus-six. Cabrera moved into the lead with birdies on 12 and 15, but he tripped to a bogey on 17 to end one back.
"I had a very good day, was very happy with the way I drove the golf ball and was able to make some key putts. I am very content with my outcome," said Cabrera. "I know I'm working hard, and I'm real close to being at the top of my game."
J.J. Henry (71) and Camilo Villegas (72) are tied for seventh place at five- under-par 139.
Bo Van Pelt, the first-round leader, stumbled to a four-over 76 and slid into a share of 14th place at minus-three.
NOTES: The cut line fell at one-over-par 145 with 77 players advancing to the weekend...Along with Woods, defending champion Sean O'Hair will have the weekend off as will David Toms, J.B. Holmes, David Duval, Cink, Ben Curtis and Vijay Singh.
<< Reds put Dickerson on DL with broken bone in wrist
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed outfielder Chris
Dickerson on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a broken bone in his right
wrist.
Dickerson suffered his injury in Thursday's game against Houston. An MRI tak
<< M's activate Lee to make anticipated debut against Rangers
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mariners activated prized offseason pickup
Cliff Lee from the 15-day disabled list to make his first start in a Seattle
uniform in Friday's series-opener against Texas.
Lee, who the Mariners acquired from P
<< Miami Dolpins
Signed defensive back Jonathan Amaya, defensive tackle Travis Ivey, wide receivers Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace, cornerback A.J. Wallace and defensive back Ross Weaver.
<< Bears hire Ruskell as director of player personnel
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears have hired former Seattle
Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell to be their director of player personnel.
It's a three-year contract.
Ruskell, who resigned from Seattle late last season
Double pole day for Busch at Richmond >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch capped off a perfect afternoon on
Friday at Richmond International Raceway after winning the pole for Saturday's
Crown Royal 400.
Busch, who also won the pole for today's Nationwide Series race
Gates, Anderson remained tied for lead in Athens >>
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Gates and Mark Anderson carded two-under
69s Friday to remain tied for the lead at the halfway point of the Stadion
Athens Classic.
Gates and Anderson, who shared the first-round lead with Bradle
Hawks-Bucks, Box >>
ATLANTA (83)Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Jos.Smith 4-11 2-3 10, Horford 6-12 3-5 15, Bibby 4-9 1-2 10, Johnson 8-24 4-4 22, Pachulia 0-0 0-2 0, Crawford 8-17 6-6 24, Evans 0-3 0-0 0, West 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-81 16-22 83.MILWAUKEE (69)Delfino 8-19 0-0 20,
Red Wings set to welcome back Hudler from Russia >>
DETROIT (AP) -Jiri Hudler is coming back to play for the Detroit Red Wings.Red Wings general manager Ken Holland confirmed Friday night that Hudler has been granted his release from Dynamo Moscow.The 26-year-old Czech forward was caught in the middl
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.
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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