05/09/2008 - Denver, CO (Hockey Betting) - The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday that Joel Quenneville will not return as head coach for the 2008-09 season.
"After meeting with Joel, we mutually agreed that the best decision for both parties involved is to go separate ways," said Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Francois Giguere. "On behalf of the organization, I want to thank Joel for his years of service and wish him the best in his coaching career."
Colorado finished 44-31-7 this season, the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Avs won their first round series over the Minnesota Wild in six games, but were swept out of the playoffs in a second-round drubbing by the Detroit Red Wings.
Quenneville, who was in the last year of his contract, led the Avs to a 131-92-23 mark in three seasons behind the bench for the club. The club was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in two of his three seasons, however, and the Avs missed the playoffs in the 2006-07 season despite another 44-31-7 campaign.
The former Avalanche assistant left to coach the St. Louis Blues from 1996-2004. The winningest coach in Blues history, Quenneville went 307-191-77-18 in St. Louis before taking over in Colorado in 2006.
<< Walking the MLB line
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there's one sport that lends itself
more to winning wagers than the rest, it has to be Major League Baseball.
Unlike football or basketball, point spreads do not come into play, so the
late meaningless t
<< Serena suffers QF loss in Berlin
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in two days,
Dinara Safina knocked off a top-10 superstar, as the Russian ousted previously
red-hot American Serena Williams on Friday to reach the semifinals at the
$1.34 m
<< Turnbow outrighted to minors
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers announced on Friday
that relief pitcher Derrick Turnbow has been outrighted to Triple-A Nashville.
Last Friday, the 30-year old righty was designated for assignment, which he
opte
<< Inter tries again for third straight title
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After failing to secure its third straight
scudetto last Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to rivals AC Milan, Inter Milan will
attempt to lift the title once again with a home victory against Siena on
Sunday.
Adebayor: I'm not leaving Arsenal >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has
angrily slammed reports that he has asked to leave the club after being denied
a new bumper contract.
Several reports on Friday claimed the Togo international w
A's reliever Foulke activated off DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics activated reliever Keith
Foulke from the 15-day disabled list on Friday.
He had been on the DL since April 19, retroactive to April 11, with neck
stiffness.
In seven games this
Shakeup could soon be in store in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Citizens of San Diego may be renowned for their laid-back
and easy-going approach to life, but the patience of the hometown Padres'
brass has got to be wearing thin with the way the team has performed over the
past three week
Red Bulls, Galaxy clash in East, West battle >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of Major League Soccer's biggest
markets will clash when the New York Red Bulls travel to California to take on
the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.
Both teams are trying
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.
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.
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