Power leads Penske 1-2-3 sweep in W. Glen qualifying

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/03/2010 - Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team Penske dominated Saturday's qualifying for the IZOD IndyCar Series race at Watkins Glen International, with points leader Will Power grabbing the pole for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen.

Power rounded the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course in one minute, 29.3164 seconds to give Penske its eighth consecutive IndyCar pole this season and its sixth straight pole at Watkins Glen.

"It's awesome to have the car on pole again," said Power, who claimed his fifth pole of the season and the seventh of his IndyCar career. "We're certainly racking them up, but we've got to get the race win."

Power kicked off the season by winning the first two street/road course races -- Brazil and St. Petersburg, FL. He currently holds a 12-point lead over Scott Dixon, who did not make the final "Fast Six" session and ended up qualifying seventh.

Helio Castroneves will start alongside Power on the front row after qualifying 0.14 seconds behind his teammate.

"Each one of us wants to win, but as [team owner] Roger [Penske] says in the end, the team wins," Castroneves said. "Whoever is up there, it benefits the team."

Castroneves won the first three poles at Watkins Glen from 2005-07.

Ryan Briscoe, who won the pole here in 2008 and '09, qualified third, while defending series champion Dario Franchitti took the fourth spot.

Rookie Takuma Sato and Justin Wilson, the defending race winner, will share the third row. Dixon and Marco Andretti will make up row four. Mario Moraes and Adam Carroll, a newcomer to the series, will roll off from the fifth row.

One week after competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire, Danica Patrick qualified a disappointing 21st in the 25 car field.

Sunday's IndyCar race at Watkins Glen is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. (et).

Worldcupwagering Autoracing Betting News

<< Rays' Upton returns to lineup after 4 games off
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton returned to the starting lineup on Saturday after missing the previous four games because of a quadriceps injury, his first start since a dugout confrontation with teammate Evan Longoria.Man

<< King, Shvedova capture Wimbledon doubles title
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Vania King and Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova won their first Grand Slam final together on Saturday, toppling Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 at The Championships, Wimbledon. The lo

<< Twins' Hardy returns from DL stint
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins on Saturday reinstated shortstop J.J. Hardy from the 15-day disabled list. Hardy missed 20 games after landing on the DL, retroactive to June 7, with a left wrist contusion. He was

<< Marlins call up INF Donnie Murphy from minors
ATLANTA (AP) -The Florida Marlins, looking for offensive help, have called up infielder Donnie Murphy from Triple-A New Orleans.Infielder Brian Barden, who was hitting .179 in 28 at-bats, was designated for assignment.Manager Edwin Rodriguez says he

<< Woods finds his stroke, shoots another 70
Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods remained a non-factor at the AT&T National despite finally finding his stroke Saturday on the back nine at pesky Aronimink. Woods shot his second straight even-par 70 to finish thre

Yankees use 11-run blitz to shoot down Jays >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Gardner hit his first career grand slam during New York's game-altering 11-run third inning, helping the Yankees roll to an 11-3 drubbing of the Blue Jays. Alex Rodriguez drove in four runs, while

Wells flirts with no-no, pitches Cubs over Reds >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wells took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth, as the Chicago Cubs took a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the continuation of a four-game series. Wells (4-6) gave u

Kaymer leads as Canizares falters in France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Martin Kaymer only managed an even-par 71 on Saturday, but it was enough for the third-round lead of the Open de France. Kaymer finished 54 holes at nine-under 204 and is one ahead

Tigers activate Perry from DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have activated pitcher Ryan Perry from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. Perry had gone to the DL because of biceps tendinitis in his right shoulder in early June. The 23-year

Ludwick officially put on DL; Cardinals call up Jay >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 26, on Saturday. Ludwick hasn't seen the field since June 25 after suffering a right calf strain three day

MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

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.