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03/16/2010 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samuel Eto'o scored late in the second half and Inter Milan beat Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge to seal its 3-1 aggregate win and a spot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho, who is nicknamed "The Special One," coached Chelsea from 2004-07. Inter had lost in the Round of 16 the last three seasons, but is back in the final eight for the first time since 2005-06.
Chelsea last failed to reach the last eight that same year and had advanced to the semifinals each of the last three seasons. The Blues were second in 2008.
CSKA Moscow defeated Sevilla 2-1 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to claim its series on aggregate, 3-2, to join Inter in the quarterfinals. Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Lyon, and Manchester United advanced last week.
Barcelona hosts Stuttgart on Wednesday with the series tied 1-1, and Bordeaux hosts Olympiacos with a 1-0 edge in their series to decide the last two teams.
Chelsea created the first scoring chance in the 11th minute when Frank Lampard dropped a pass off to Michael Ballack and the German drove a 30-yard shot just wide of the left post.
Inter had its only good scoring chance of the first in the 33rd after Chelsea captain John Terry misjudged a cross and it sailed over his head to Eto'o, who wasted an opener header with a shot straight into the ground.
Chelsea created its best chance two minutes before half when Didier Drogba set up Nicolas Anelka in the area. Anelka tried to tap the ball past Julio Cesar, but the Inter goalie got a piece of the ball and Thiago Motta cleared.
Although Chelsea needed a goal to win the series, Inter was far more dangerous through the first 25 minutes of the second half and could have easily put the series away on three occasions.
Wesley Sneijder found a streaking Goran Pandev in the 59th minute, but he took too long to test Chelsea goalkeeper Ryan Turnbull, and Yuri Zhirkov closed to deflect the shot wide.
Just six minutes later, Terry turned the ball over and Sneijder lofted a pass to Diego Milito, who fired wide of the right post with only Turnbull to beat.
Sneijder set up another chance in the 70th, but his perfect free kick to the back post to Motta was headed over from close range.
Eto'o finally rewarded Sneijder for his play-making in the 78th and sealed the series at the same time. Sneijder chipped a pass to Eto'o to spring him for a one-on-one chance with Turnbull - who started for injured Petr Cech - and he settled well and then poked a shot past Turnbull to the near post.
Drobga was sent off in the 86th for stomping on Motta after a collision in the area, and Chelsea did nothing over the closing minutes.
Mourinho celebrated the goal from Eto'o, but he left the bench and was down in the tunnel before the final whistle blew.
In Spain, Tomas Necid and Keisuke Honda scored as CSKA Moscow shocked Sevilla. Necid scored the opener in the 39th but Valencia's Diego Perotti answered just two minutes later to level the series at 2-2.
Honda sent CSKA through when his 35-yard free kick deflected off the hands of Sevilla goalie Andres Palop and into the upper right in the 55th. Honda had a lot on the shot but Palop was in good position and should have easily made the save.
Sevilla needed two goals in the final 35 minutes, but couldn't respond and was eliminated in the Round of 16 for the second time in the last three years.
<< Dementieva reaches Indian Wells QFs
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian star Elena
Dementieva was an easy fourth-round winner Tuesday at the $4.5 million BNP
Paribas Open.
The 2006 Indian Wells runner-up Dementieva drubbed 19th-seeded Frenchwoman
Arav
<< Rams add veteran C Fraley
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced the signing of
veteran center Hank Fraley on Tuesday.
Fraley is entering his 11th season in the NFL after spending the previous four
campaigns with Cleveland. Terms of the deal
<< Dixon out as Furman women's hoops coach
Greenville, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Furman University announced Tuesday the
resignation of women's head basketball coach Sam Dixon.
Dixon spent the last eight seasons guiding the program and exits after a 8-24
season in 2009-10.
"We
<< Browns re-sign CB Ventrone, TE Estandia
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have re-signed cornerback
Ray Ventrone and tight end Greg Estandia.
Ventrone signed with the Browns as a free agent last September and appeared
mostly on special teams in 2009, where h
Oregon ousts hoops coach Kent >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oregon Ducks have terminated the contract
of men's head basketball coach Ernie Kent after 13 years guiding the program.
Kent had two years remaining on his contract but had been rumored to be out
follo
Eagles acquire DE Tapp from Seattle >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles acquired defensive
end Darryl Tapp from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Chris
Clemons and a 2010 fourth-round draft pick.
Tapp had re-signed with Seattle on Mond
Yankees hire former Padres GM Towers >>
Tampa, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Towers was named a special assignment scout
for the New York Yankees Tuesday after spending the last 15 years as the
general manager of the San Diego Padres.
Towers spent 26 seasons total with the Pa
Packers ink P Bryan >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers on Tuesday signed
punter Chris Bryan.
Bryan played four seasons in the Australian Football League from 2005-2008.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder will wear No. 9 for the Packers.
T
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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