Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/12/2010 - Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boise State University announced Friday it has relieved men's head basketball coach Greg Graham of his duties.
The Broncos' season came to an end Thursday with an 84-60 loss to Utah State in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament to finish 15-17 and 5-11 in league play.
"We appreciate everything that Coach Graham and his staff have contributed to Boise State the past eight years," Boise State director of athletics Gene Bleymaier said. "We felt that in the best interest of the program we needed to make a change."
Graham took over as head coach prior to the 2002-03 season and guided BSU to a 142-112 record in eight seasons at the helm. He was just three years removed from a share of the conference championship, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and being named WAC Coach of the Year in 2007-08 when the Broncos set a school record for wins with 25.
Graham was the top assistant for Oregon prior to joining Boise State. Prior to his five years at Oregon, Graham was an assistant at St. Mary's College in California, New Mexico, San Jose State and San Diego State.
<< Titans re-sign CB Hood
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms on a
contract with veteran cornerback Rod Hood on Friday.
Hood, who was an unrestricted free agent, appeared in five games (four starts)
for the Titans last season, re
<< Pats re-sign CB Bodden, add LB Murrell
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots on Friday re-signed
cornerback Leigh Bodden and inked linebacker Marques Murrell to an undisclosed
contract.
Bodden started in 14 of the 15 games he played in for the Patriots last s
<< Heat suspend Wright for two games after DUI arrest
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat suspended forward Dorell Wright
for the next two games after he was charged with driving under the influence
and driving with a suspended license on Thursday.
"This is out of character for D
<< Wall, Kentucky withstand tough test from Alabama
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Wall had 23 points, seven rebounds and
six assists in his first taste of tournament basketball, as second-ranked
Kentucky moved into the semifinals of the SEC Tournament with a 73-67 triumph
over Al
Tisdale helps Illinois edge Wisconsin in Big Ten quarters >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Tisdale scored 21 points and grabbed
eight rebounds to lead Illinois to a much-needed 58-54 victory over No. 13
Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Demetri McCamey ended w
Report: Woods took pain medication day before crash >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods' wife told police her husband had
not been drinking, but had taken pain medication the day before his early-
morning car accident outside their Isleworth home, according to paperwork
obtaine
Oregon RB James sentenced to probation, 10 days in jail >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon sophomore running back LaMichael James
was sentenced to 24 months probation and 10 days in jail after pleading guilty
to one count of physical harassment on Friday.
James agreed to a bargain that
Inter stunned by Catania >>
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Catania scored three times in the final 20
minutes of their 3-1 upset win over Inter Milan at the Angelo Massimino on
Friday.
Diego Milito scored in the 54th minute for Inter, but had his opener cance
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting