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04/08/2010 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo said Thursday he is "sure" Real Madrid will beat Barcelona on Saturday in the El Clasico.
Real Madrid and Barcelona enter the match even on points with 77 atop La Liga, and win for either side could be the difference in the title race.
"It may just decide the winner of La Liga," Ronaldo added on Real's website.
Real has won all 15 of its matches at the Bernabeu this season, and can avenge a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou from earlier this season and take a three-point lead in the standings with seven matches left.
Barca would also take control of the title race with a win, which it did last season with a 6-2 win at the Bernabeu late in the season.
"Last year's game was amazing. I'll never forget it. The memories and emotions are still very recent," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said, according to the team's website.
Pique also added the winning margin from last season "unrepeatable."
Real ended last season on a five-game losing streak, and hopes a win this year will vault the team in the opposite direction and to its third La Liga title in the last three seasons.
"What difference is there if we beat Barcelona," Ronaldo said, "and then lose the next two matches?"
Even before Ronaldo predicted a win during a Thursday press conference, Pique said "we'll do our talking on the pitch," according to the club's website.
Barca returned to the semifinals of the Champions League for the third time in four seasons on Tuesday, finishing off Arsenal 4-1 at Camp Nou thanks to four goals from Lio Messi for a 6-3 aggregate win.
Messi also has two hat tricks in La Liga last month, and leads the league with 26 goals. He has 39 in all competitions.
"He is having a great season," Ronaldo said, "and will now and forever be among the best players ever. "But the coach and entire team also deserve credit.
"Messi does not play alone."
Pique admitted Ronaldo vs. Messi features two of the top players in the world, but there is not any real dispute about who is the best.
"Cristiano is one of the best," Pique said. "Leo is the best."
Ronaldo, who joined Madrid in a $132 million transfer from Manchester United, has 18 goals in 21 La Liga matches. Gonzalo Higuain leads Real with 24.
Madrid has won 12 straight, and a victory over Barca would also leave the team just two more home matches to finish a perfect season at the Bernabeu.
Real won at Racing last week, and during its winning streak has scored two or more goals in every match. But Barca can score as many - or more - goals than Madrid.
"There is hardly any difference between us and Barcelona and the slightest mistake could kill both our chances to win the title," Madrid's Sergio Ramos told the club's website. "We are very excited about the match.
"I believe it could be decisive."
Real veteran midfielder Guti told Marca "we will be very motivated because we know how much is at stake for us." But he insisted, "we fear no one."
"We could have won the first leg match at Camp Nou. It is now time for us to defeat them at the Bernabeu."
On Saturday, Malaga hosts Sevilla, Tenerife hosts Valladolid, Villarreal hosts Sporting Gijon, and Xerez hosts Getafe.
On Sunday, Deportivo hosts Racing, Osasuna hosts Real Zaragoza, Espanyol hosts Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao hosts Almeria, and Mallorca hosts Valencia.
<< Nationals hold off Phillies to avoid sweep
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris smacked a two-run homer, and
the Washington Nationals held on for a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies
to salvage a game in this season-opening three-game set.
Cristian Guzman and Ryan
<< Woods cheered in return to golf
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods took one last practice putt and
began the short walk to Augusta National's first tee, the most anticipated
golf shot in recent memory just minutes away.
Just 18 days earlier, in one of his televised
<< Vanderbilt C Ogilvy entering NBA Draft
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy has chosen to
forego his senior season of eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA Draft.
Ogilvy also plans to hire an agent, which will officially end his collegiate
career.
"W
<< Niemann leaves with bruised shoulder
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Tampa Bay right-hander Jeff Niemann left with one out in the second inning of Thursday night's game against Baltimore after being hit in the right shoulder by Miguel Tejada's line drive.The team said Niemann has a bruised
Wisconsin rips RIT, advances to NCAA men's ice hockey final >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Stepan posted two goals and two assists
as Wisconsin routed RIT, 8-1, in a Frozen Four matchup from Ford Field.
Justin Schultz and Blake Geoffrion posted a goal and one assist each for the
Badgers (2
MLS increases roster size from 24 to 26 per team >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Thursday it has
added two additional roster slots per club for home grown players identified
and developed by the team.
MLS made the adjustment as part of its ongoing efforts
Real signs Beckerman to four-year deal >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake signed captain Kyle Beckerman to
a new four-year contract Thursday.
Beckerman, an 11-year MLS veteran, has started 83 games since joining Real in
a trade with the Colorado Rapids during the 2007
Chipper leaves Braves-Cubs game, day-to-day with sore side >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones
left Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs with a sore right side.
Jones had walked in the bottom of the third and raced to second on Brian
McCann's gro
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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.
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