Benitez: Reds must sell to buy

Soccer Betting Lines

04/28/2009 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed he will have to fund any summer transfer deals by selling current members of his Anfield squad.

The Reds have been linked with a series of raids to land several leading stars from across Europe - including Valencia's Spain striker David Villa and Aston Villa and England midfielder Gareth Barry.

However, Benitez has admitted that any deals will need to be funded by departures as the Anfield coffers are not currently awash with transfer funds.

That news brings into doubt the futures of fringe squad members Ryan Babel, Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen.

"More or less I will have an idea of how much we will have to spend," said Benitez. "I think we'd have to sell players to increase the money we'll need, but at the moment we're not talking about names and money.

"We are working on targets and we will try to do things as quickly and cheaply as possible. Every year it is important to sign good players, the right players.

"We know we have better players than before and it will be difficult to find better players than we have now. But we are working very hard during the season, looking for and watching players. We will be ready."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Hitboz Soccer Betting News

<< Shevchenko facing Milan departure
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The agent of AC Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko doesn't believe that his client will still be at the San Siro next season. The 32-year-old Ukraine striker is currently on a season-long loan with the Rosson

<< Portsmouth rejects Grant reports
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth has described reports that Avram Grant will be appointed as its new manager in the summer as categorically untrue. Caretaker manager Paul Hart has helped guide the South Coast club awa

<< Medina Garrigues wins Fes opener
Fes, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded 2008 runner-up Anabel Medina Garrigues was among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $220,000 Moroccan Grand Prix. The Spanish Medina Garrigues whipped France's Camille Pin 6-1, 6-1 on

<< Sevilla's Escude tempted by Inter
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France international Julien Escude has not ruled out the possibility of leaving Sevilla to join Inter Milan in the summer. Recent rumors have linked the 29-year-old defender with a move to the San Siro a

<< Juve role interests Mancini
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Mancini would welcome the chance to coach Juventus, according to the former Inter Milan boss' agent. Reports suggest the Turin-based side will dispense with Claudio Ranieri's services at the

Freedom's Wambach earns WPS Player of the Week >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Freedom attacker Abby Wambach has been chosen Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 5, it was announced on Tuesday. The U.S. international striker scored two goals, her fir

Everton upset with FA Cup ticket allocation >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton have hit out at what it claims is a "hopelessly inadequate" allocation of tickets for next month's FA Cup Final against Chelsea. Toffees chief executive Robert Elstone has revealed his disap

Zigic eyes Valencia exit >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia international Nikola Zigic has not ruled out the possibility of leaving cash-strapped Valencia in the summer and moving to the Premier League. Los Che, who allowed Zigic to join former club

Dallas acquires defender Davies from RSL for draft pick >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas acquired U.S. U-20 national team defender Kyle Davies from Real Salt Lake in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 SuperDraft, the Major League Soccer clubs announced on Tuesday. "Kyle

Chelsea earns scoreless draw at Barcelona >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petr Cech made six saves and Chelsea earned a 0-0 tie against Barcelona on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals at Camp Nou. Barcelona took 20 shots, including six on goal, but was

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.