Wind blows away Oosthuizen's challengers

Golf Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen got the luck of the draw on Friday at the British Open Championship.

The South African fired a five-under 67 despite intermittent rain and gusty winds to take a five-stroke lead with the second round of the season's third major suspended due to darkness.

Oosthuizen completed two rounds at 12-under-par 132, which matched the low 36- hole score for the Open Championship at St. Andrews. Nick Faldo and Greg Norman both posted 132 in 1990.

"Everyone plays to play in a major and the final round on Sunday. I'm just really glad the way I dealt with my nerves around the course," Oosthuizen said. "We started in the rain and the first nine was not that easy, but it got a bit better from 14 on."

After Oosthuizen finished, there was a 66-minute weather delay because of strong winds that were blowing golf balls around several greens.

The second round is slated to resume at 6:30 a.m. local time Saturday (1:30 a.m. et). Once the round is complete, there will be approximately a one-hour break before the third round starts.

Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 Open champion at Royal Troon, also carded a 67 to move into second place at seven-under-par 137.

Englishmen Paul Casey and Lee Westwood are tied for third place in the clubhouse at minus-six. Casey overcame a triple-bogey on the Road Hole, No. 17, to post his second straight 69, while Westwood had a steady round with 17 pars and a single birdie on the par-five fifth for a 71.

All four finished their rounds before the stoppage in play.

Stephen Tiley, who was in the last group out off the first tee, also stands at minus-six. He has completed 10 holes of round two.

Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods birdied the 18th hole Friday to finish off a one-over 73. He shares 15th place at four-under-par 140.

First-round leader Rory McIlory stumbled to an eight-over 80 and tumbled into a share of 38th at one-under-par 143. McIlroy opened with a 63 on Thursday, matching the lowest score in major championship history.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

Mysportdbook Golf Betting News

<< Top seed Pennetta reaches Palermo semis
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta defeated Spanish qualifier Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament. Pennetta of Italy will next battle eighth

<< Ramirez's homer lifts Cubs over Phils
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez continued his hot streak with a game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs edged the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, in the second of four games at Wrigley Field. Ramir

<< Mandzukic joins Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg have wrapped up the signing of Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic on a four-year contract from Dinamo Zagreb. The 24-year-old joins the Bundesliga club as a potential replacement for Edin Dzeko,

<< Wizards want more magic against Rapids
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Wizards forward Teal Bunbury called Wednesday's 1-0 victory at the Columbus Crew "huge," and hopes the team can build on the result Saturday night at the Colorado Rapids. K.C. (4-8-3) won for

<< Galaxy aims to overcome "12th man" at United
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena has plenty of fond memories from RFK Stadium, where he brings his team to face D.C. United on Sunday. Arena guided United to three successive MLS Cup final appear

Kim, McDaniel to meet in Publinx final >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lion Kim and David McDaniel will meet in the final of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship after both players squeezed out a pair of 1-up victories on Friday. Indeed, all six matches contested

Volquez to make season debut for Reds on Saturday >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez is scheduled to make his season debut on Saturday against the Rockies. Volquez, who has been out because of both Tommy John surgery and a 50-game suspension for

Blues extend Hensick's contract >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have signed forward T.J. Hensick to a one-year contract extension. Hensick was picked up in a trade with Colorado in June and saw time in just seven NHL contests in 2009-10, not

Tampa re-signs C Thompson >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed center Nate Thompson to a one-year contract on Friday, a move that allowed the club to avoid arbitration with the player. The 25-year-old played in 32 games and tallied

Brewers' Davis shelved by elbow tendinitis >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have placed lefty Doug Davis on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left elbow. Davis was scheduled to pitch Monday to open a four-game series in Pittsburgh. He missed the

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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.