Host Czechs whip Italians 4-1 in Davis Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Czech Republic advanced to the Davis Cup quarterfinals with an easy 4-1 victory over Italy this week.

The Czechs had already clinched the best-of-five tie with a doubles victory in Ostrava on Saturday, which gave them an unassailable 3-0 lead. On Sunday, a pair of dead rubbers saw Czech Lukas Rosol overcome Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Italian Simone Bolelli top Frantisek Cermak 6-4, 6-4 on the indoor hardcourt at CEZ Arena.

The Czech Republic, captained by Jaroslav Navratil, will face 2010 Davis Cup champion Serbia in April.

Friday's opening singles rubbers featured Czech victories for Radek Stepanek and 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych, and Stepanek and Berdych then followed up their singles victories from Day 1 with a doubles triumph on Saturday.

The Czechs are to 8-3 all-time against Italy, which captured its lone Davis Cup title in 1976. The former Czechoslovakia was the champion in this prestigious international event back in 1980.

Jazzspots Tennis Betting News

<< Last-place Novara stuns Inter at San Siro
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unfortunately for last-place Novara, it does not play Inter Milan again this season. Andrea Caracciolo scored in the 56th minute Sunday and Novara won for just the third time in Serie A this season - and the

<< Red Wings shoot for NHL home record vs. Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to tie the NHL record for consecutive home wins when they shoot for their 20th straight victory at Joe Louis Arena tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. It's fitting that the Red Wings wil

<< Sharks begin epic trek in St. Louis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place San Jose Sharks will make the first stop on their longest road trip of the season tonight, as they visit the St. Louis Blues in a Western Conference showdown at Scottrade Center. The Sharks lead the Pacific

<< Pens welcome Bolts to Steel City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins tied a season-high for goals in a game on Saturday and will try to carry some of that offense into tonight's contest when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins host

<< Kings end road trip in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to end a rough road trip on a positive note when they visit the rival Dallas Stars for today's Pacific Division battle at American Airlines Center. The Kings are 1-3-1 so far on a six-game sw

Liverpool's Suarez makes a bad situation worse >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City's continued rise to prominence, Chelsea's sudden decline and Tottenham's blistering form have each been major storylines in the 2011-12 English Premier League season. Yet racism has emerged as the hot-butto

Argentina tops Germany 4-1 to reach Davis Cup quarters >>
Bamberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina settled for a 4-1 victory over host Germany in a best-of-five opening-round Davis Cup matchup. The 2011 runner-up Argentines will host Croatia in a quarterfinal in April. Argentina clinched

Blues activate McDonald >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues activated forward Andy McDonald from injured reserve on Sunday. McDonald has been out of action since suffering a concussion at the end of the second period on October 13 in Dallas. He

PSV returns to Eredivisie summit >>
Eindhoven, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dries Mertens converted a penalty in the 8th minute, Ola Toivonen and Tim Matavz added goals before the half hour, and PSV Eindhoven beat De Graafschap, 4-1, to return to the Eredivisie summit Sunday.

Rangers and Napoli agree to deal >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers and catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli agreed to terms on a one-year contract on Sunday. Per club policy, no terms of the deal were disclosed. The 30-year-old set career highs last year

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.