NCAA upholds sanctions against former SEMO hoops coach

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An NCAA appeals committee has upheld the sanctions levied by the governing body against former Southeast Missouri men's basketball coach Scott Edgar.

The NCAA penalized Southeast Missouri's men's and women's basketball programs for violations in August 2009. The issues surrounded extra benefits to players and unethical conduct by Edgar, who was first placed on leave by the school when a notice of allegations was first sent and then fired soon after.

Penalties included three years of probation and a vacations of records from 2006-08. Edgar was also given a show-cause order that restricted his ability to land a coaching position at another NCAA institution.

Edgar appealed his penalty, but the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee rejected his assertions.

"The findings are not clearly contrary to the evidence presented, there was no procedural error which resulted in the findings, and the facts found by the Committee on Infractions do constitute a violation of NCAA rules," the NCAA stated on Friday.

Edgar was hired in May as the basketball coach at Eastern Oklahoma State College -- a junior college.

Wwwvegaslobby NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Ghana carries the weight of a continent
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teams from the African continent have made steady progress on the sport's biggest stage starting since 1990, when Cameroon became the first team from Africa to reach the quarterfinals. Nigeria followed up by advancing to

<< In the FCS Huddle: Spoilers ready to step up
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are always teams that look like locks on paper. You know, like France and Italy advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup. And that's the point. There are no sure things in sports. The o

<< Cubs activate Ramirez
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez was activated off the 15-day disabled list Friday. Ramirez had been sidelined since June 8 with a left thumb contusion. He made a pair of minor league rehab appeara

<< U.S. hopes to start 'special' run against Ghana
Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Captain Carlos Bocanegra did not think any United States team had ever won its group at the World Cup, and when you have to look back 80 years to the inaugural tournament to prove him wrong, it is a

<< Nets trade Douglas-Roberts to Bucks
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have traded swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts to Milwaukee for a second-round draft pick in 2012. The trade, which was reported earlier this week, was announced Friday by Bucks general m

Federer, Djokovic, Hewitt reach fourth round at Wimbledon >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Roger Federer, third-seeded Novak Djokovic and former champion Lleyton Hewitt were straight-set winners in third-round action Friday at Wimbledon. The six-time Wimbledon champion Federer

High Sierra golf is as good as it gets >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twenty-five years and one wife ago, I first discovered the Reno-Lake Tahoe area and was taken by the beauty of the desert, mountains and pine trees. I was also impressed with the variety of golf courses in the region

Padres activate Everth Cabrera from DL >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres activated shortstop Everth Cabrera from the 15-day disabled list on Friday. Cabrera has been sidelined since May 24 with a strained right hamstring. It is the same injury that had

No doctor needed for Morrow's arm >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Morrow appears to be doing his best Roy Halladay impression of late. Though you could argue that the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander is simply, finally, being himself. The 6'3" Morrow has been comin

Federer, Roddick, Djokovic, Hewitt into Wimbledon round of 16 >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt were among the winners in third-round action Friday at Wimbledon. The top-seeded and six-time Wimbledon champion Federer had his f

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.