Newcastle adds former Everton midfielder Gosling

Soccer Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-promoted Newcastle signed former Everton midfielder Dan Gosling to a four-year contract on Thursday.

Gosling, 20, is the second addition for Newcastle ahead of its return to the Premier League. Newcastle previously signed midfielder James Perch from Nottingham Forest.

"It's a brilliant move for me. Now that the deal is done I just can't wait to get started," Gosling said on Newcastle's website.

"I've played at St James' Park before and know all about the amazing atmosphere. Playing there in a black and white shirt is something I've thought about already and it will be a great day when I finally get to walk out in front of 50,000 people."

Gosling departed Everton this month after the Premier League ruled the English U-21 player was not offered a new contract in writing by the required date.

Footballchancesports Soccer Betting News

<< Delahoussaye leads by two in Canada
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Delahoussaye fired an eight-under 62 Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Canadian Open. Delahoussaye's 62 at St. George's Golf & Country Club matched the tournament's 18-hole

<< City coach Mancini interested in Donovan
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini admitted he is interested in United States and Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Donovan played 10 games on loan at Everton last season and had two goals i

<< McCoy in fold with Browns
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed quarterback Colt McCoy, a third-round draft pick. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports McCoy and the team's other third-round selection, guard Shawn Lauvao, bo

<< Kaye leads in Ohio with course-record 63
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Kaye fired a course-record, eight- under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA

<< Thrashers re-sign Pavelec
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers announced they have re- signed goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to a multi-year contract. Exact terms of the contract were not provided, per team policy. The 22-year-old appeared in 42 game

Jol turns down Fulham job >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham will have to look elsewhere for a new manager after Martin Jol turned down the chance to return to the Premier League. The former Tottenham boss has decided to stay in charge of Ajax af

Hanley commits future to Blackburn >>
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn has handed teenage defender Grant Hanley a new five-year contract. The Scotland Under-19 captain made his Premier League debut in the final game of last season against Aston Villa and is

Mulumbu signs extension with West Brom >>
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has committed his future to West Brom after penning a new three-year contract. The 23-year-old DR Congo international made 46 appearances and scored three goals i

Paul to meet with Hornets Monday, trade rumors swirl >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul will reportedly sit down with management of the New Orleans Hornets on Monday, when he's expected to express his wishes to be traded. Several media outlets, inc

Shelton ousts Spieth, Lister at U.S. Junior >>
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robby Shelton scored an upset victory over 2009 champion Jordan Spieth in Thursday's second round, then bettered Andrew Lister in the third round to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur Champio

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.

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.