Kansas City brings Diop back to MLS

Soccer Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards signed Senegalese midfielder Birahim Diop, the Major League Soccer club announced on Wednesday.

"Birahim is a guy who brings a physical presence to the field," Wizards Manager Peter Vermes said. "He also has a great attitude, and I think he'll make a positive impact for us in 2010."

Diop, who has been with the Wizards on a trial basis since the start of the 2010 preseason, began his professional career in his native Senegal. After a couple seasons there, Diop moved to MLS to sign with New York, who was coached by current Wizards assistant Octavio Zambrano.

After his time in MLS, Diop has bounced around the South American leagues before his return to the Wizards this preseason.

Per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wwwinsidetheweb Soccer Betting News

<< Spoiler replaces rear wing starting with Martinsville
Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR will replace the rear wing with the spoiler on the current Sprint Cup Series cars, beginning with next week's race at Martinsville Speedway. During a news conference held on Wednesday at Charl

<< Bears release CB Vasher
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears released long-time cornerback Nathan Vasher on Wednesday. Vasher, who was a fourth-round pick by the Bears in 2004, has spent the last six seasons in Chicago. He signed a cont

<< DE Edwards reaches 4-year deal with Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -Free agent defensive end Dwan Edwards has signed a four-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.The team announced the deal Wednesday.A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press early Wednesday morning tha

<< Bears release Vasher
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -The Chicago Bears have released former Pro Bowl defensive back Nathan Vasher.Vasher, selected in the fourth round of the 2004 draft out of Texas, played six seasons with Chicago and made 19 interceptions, including eight in 2

<< Canucks winger Samuelsson to miss up to 3 weeks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Canucks winger Mikael Samuelsson will be out up to three weeks with an undisclosed upper body injury during Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to the Islanders.Samuelsson left during the third period of a contest that also sa

Dolphins bulk up offensive line with Incognito >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have reportedly bolstered their offensive line with 26-year-old Richie Incognito. According to the Miami Herald, the deal is for one year and is worth just over $1 million. The report a

Rangers manager Washington remorseful about cocaine use >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington released an apologetic statement Wednesday regarding his cocaine use during the 2009 season. Washington, 57, just finished his third season with the Rangers and led

Bills lock up DE Edwards >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills agreed to a multi-year deal with defensive end Dwan Edwards on Wednesday. According to The Buffalo News, the deal is worth about $18 million total and lasts four years. "(Owner Ralph Wilso

Chargers bring back DL Ian Scott >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers re-signed veteran defensive lineman Ian Scott to a one-year deal. The terms of the contract have not been released. Scott appeared in the final 13 games for the Chargers last s

Seahawks sign LB McCoy for one year >>
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks announced the signing of linebacker Matt McCoy to a one-year contract on Wednesday. McCoy, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2009, McCoy appeared in 12 gam

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.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.