Buffalo's Afinogenov out with broken wrist

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres forward Maxim Afinogenov will be out of action for at least six weeks after breaking his left wrist.

Afinogenov suffered the injury during Buffalo's overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. He was knocked into the boards by Edmonton defenseman Jason Smith late in the second period after scoring a goal and did not return.

"Max (Afinogenov) we've lost for a minimum of six weeks," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said after Thursday's game. "He's got a broken scaphoid bone in his wrist. He fell on it."

Afinogenov is second on the Sabres in scoring with 23 goals and 34 assists in 53 games this season.

Buffalo also announced that forward Jiri Novotny will be sidelined indefinitely after re-aggravating a high-ankle sprain.

Wwwracingcasino Hockey Betting News

<< Another son of Eagles' coach Reid faces criminal charges
Harrisburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pennsylvania attorney general Tom Corbett announced that Plymouth Township Police filed criminal charges against Garrett Reid surrounding an accident on January 30. Corbett said an investigation found th

<< Santangelo reaches semis; Mirza bows out in Bangalore
Bangalore, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded and defending champion Mara Santangelo was among Friday's quarterfinal winners, while second-seeded Indian crowd favorite Sania Mirza was sent packing at the $175,000 Sony Ericsson Interna

<< Inter go for record 16th-straight win against Cagliari
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan have a chance to make history on Saturday at the San Siro as they host 13th-placed Cagliari. A win for Inter would give them 16 straight victories in league play, breaking the European record

<< Sharks continue epic swing in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks continue their season-long eight-game road trip tonight, when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. San Jose won the first two games of its swing -- including a big victory in Anahe

<< Canucks aim for big win in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to grab the top spot in the Northwest Division tonight, as they travel to Chicago and the United Center to battle the Blackhawks. Vancouver and its 68 points are currently tied with Calgary f

Montreal's Kovalev out with elbow injury >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev will be sidelined about two-to-three weeks with a left elbow injury. Kovalev told the Montreal Gazette that he is not faking the injury and it has been a reoccurrin

Spring Training Preview: AL East >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After shoveling snow for nearly three hours on Wednesday, there is not a better thing to hear than pitchers and catchers are reporting. However, the 20-degree temperatures and sub-zero wind chills here in the Northeast hardl

Scottie Pippen considering comeback >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seven-time All-Star and six-time World Champion Scottie Pippen is seriously considering an NBA comeback. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Pippen hopes to play for a contending team in this s

Walsh leaving Portland State for Army >>
Portland, OR(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland State head coach Tim Walsh, the winningest coach in school history, has accepted the position of offensive coordinator at Army. Vikings defensive coordinator Greg Lupfer has been named t

Hard Spun at Oaklawn Park for Southwest Stakes >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Highly regarded Hard Spun tops a field of nine for Monday's $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The President's Day feature is a prep race for the $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturda

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts 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.