Alouettes release Stewart, Desriveaux

Football Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes released two long- time players Wednesday, cutting ties to defensive end Anwar Stewart and wide receiver Danny Desriveaux.

"On behalf of the Montreal Alouettes, I would like to thank both players for their contributions both on the field and in the Montreal community," said Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall. "Anwar has been a leader on this team throughout his career and he will always be a member of the Alouettes family. We wish him continued success."

Stewart was jettisoned after 10 memorable seasons with the Als, which included three Grey Cup titles (2002, 2009-10), two All-Star selections and a franchise record of 66 sacks. He was also voted the CFL's top defensive player in 2004.

Desriveaux, a native of Laval, played five seasons for Montreal, racking up 62 receptions for 668 yards and two touchdowns.

Genxcasino Football Betting News

<< Heat G Chalmers inactive vs. Magic
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers was inactive for Wednesday night's game at Orlando because of a left hand sprain. The Heat said Chalmers, who has played all 25 games this season, was day-to- day with the i

<< Colts name Telesco VP of football operations
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have promoted Tom Telesco to vice president of football operations. Telesco, who spent 14 years in the personnel department, was promoted by new general manager Ryan Grigson. The

<< Yankees sign veteran INF Branyan
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees signed veteran infielder Russell Branyan on Wednesday. The minor league deal includes an invitation to spring training. Branyan, 36, has played for 11 teams since appearing in his first

<< Sharapova, Goerges reach QFs in Paris
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova and six- seed Julia Goerges of Germany were second-round winners Wednesday at the Open GDF Suez. Sharapova, who withdrew from this event last year due to illness, advanc

<< Air Force fires basketball coach Reynolds
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Air Force men's basketball coach Jeff Reynolds was fired Wednesday with the team in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh made the announcement. Associate head co

St. John's G Stith leaves team >>
Queens, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Junior guard Malik Stith is leaving St. John's because of personal reasons, head coach Steve Lavin announced Wednesday. The university said Stith would remain a part of the St. John's program as a student-wo

Coastal Carolina to host five in Moglia's first season >>
Conway, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coastal Carolina will open the Joe Moglia era by hosting North Carolina A&T and has four other home games as part of a 2012 football schedule announced on Wednesday. Moglia was hired in December as the secon

Astros and SS Lowrie agree to terms >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros and shortstop Jed Lowrie agreed to terms on a one-year contract Wednesday, avoiding arbitration. He was acquired from Boston in a trade in December that saw Houston also get pitcher Kyl

Cavs G Irving out with a concussion >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a concussion. He is listed as day-to-day. Irving suffered the concussion aft

No. 11 Michigan State hangs on vs. PSU >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Draymond Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds and No. 11 Michigan State led wire-to-wire to beat Penn State, 77-57, at Breslin Center on Wednesday. Penn State cut the Spartans' advantage, as large

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.