Pierce makes it official, re-signs with Celtics

Basketball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 -

BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Celtics have re-signed captain Paul Pierce.

The club made the official announcement Thursday, six days after a team official said it had reached an agreement to keep the star forward.

The Boston Herald had reported that the contract is for four years with Pierce and the Celtics having a mutual option for the fourth year. He had opted out of the final year of a contract for 2010-2011 that was to pay him $21.51 million next season. By re-signing for a lesser amount, which was not disclosed, he creates cap room and gets long-term security.

Since the Celtics lost the NBA finals in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers, they've re-signed guard Ray Allen for the next two seasons and signed center-forward Jermaine O'Neal for the same period. Kevin Garnett also is signed through 2011-2012.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwgo2hk Basketball Betting News

<< McIlroy posts record-tying 63; Woods four back
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlory said the thought crept into his head on 17 that he could set or match the low round in a major. He missed his four-footer for birdie on 17, but closed with a three-foot birdie put

<< Golf Tidbits: Which 50-something will make a run at the British?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Open returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews this week for the 28th time. No course has hosted more Open Championships. In keeping with the vintage of the historic venue, the story of the las

<< McIlroy posts record-tying 63 at St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlory said the thought crept into his head on 17 that he could set or match the low round in a major. He missed his four-footer for birdie on 17, but closed with a three-foot birdie put

<< NBA's West has plea hearing on Md. weapons charges
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West is scheduled to appear in court in Maryland for a plea hearing stemming from his 2009 arrest for carrying weapons and speeding on a motorcycle.A spokesman for Prince George's County S

<< Daly off to flying start at British Open
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Daly has played golf all over the world the last few years in search of his form that helped him earn five PGA Tour victories. Daly came from out of nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship

White Sox put win streak on the line versus rival Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An eight-game winning streak propelled the Chicago White Sox to the top of the American League Central at the All-Star break. Tonight, they put that streak on the line against a division foe, as they open a four- game set wit

Angels hope to get second half off to good start vs. Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No team was happier to see the All-Star break than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully recharged, the Angels get their second half started with the opener of a four-game set with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium

Szavay stays hot; Dulgheru pulls out in Prague >>
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last week's Budapest titlist Agnes Szavay was among Thursday's second-round winners, while second-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania pulled out of the draw at the $220,000 Prague Open te

Giants, Lincecum welcome a returning Beltran to the Bay Area >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum didn't help the National League break its lengthy losing streak in the All-Star Game, but the New York Mets may have wished he had. The rested two-time NL Cy Young Award honoree will take the mound when the Sa

Rangers open second half at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers enter the season's second half in good position to end an 11-year playoff drought. The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, still have some work to do in order to secure a fourth consecutive trip to the postse

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.