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01/24/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Collins made one of the bigger plays when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in last year's Super Bowl.
In two weeks, plenty of former FCS players have the opportunity to be game- changers, particularly those from the NFC champion New York Giants, who will play the AFC champion New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.
The former FCS players will hope to live up to Collins' interception return for a touchdown in Green Bay's win last February. Collins, one of six Packers on that team who played collegiately in the FCS, is from Bethune-Cookman.
Perhaps none of this year's FCS players in the Super Bowl has a better chance of starring than Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, who keeps building on the breakout season in which he had 82 receptions for a team-record 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns.
Cruz is in his second season out of Massachusetts. In Sunday's NFC Championship Game win, he caught 10 passes for 142 yards against a San Francisco 49ers defense that was one of the best in the NFL this season.
"We always believed," Cruz said. "I don't even know how to put this into words as far as what this means to me. We weren't just happy to be here and it's just been an amazing ride. But we're not done yet."
Another of the key Giants is seventh-year running back Brandon Jacobs from Southern Illinois. The bruising starter, who is closing in on 5,000 career yards, often operates behind left guard/center Kevin Boothe, who is in his sixth season out of Cornell.
Other Giants from FCS schools are special teams standout Zak DeOssie, a fifth- year linebacker out of Brown; fourth-year cornerback Michael Coe from Alabama State; wide receiver Ramses Barden, in his third season out of Cal Poly; and Richmond rookie practice player Martin Parker, a defensive tackle.
The Patriots have three starters from FCS programs: Dan Connolly, a 6-foot-4, 313-pound center who is in his sixth season out of Southeast Missouri State; fifth-year safety James Ihedigbo from Massachusetts; and cornerback Kyle Arrington, who is in his third season out of Hofstra's former program.
Arrington, who was third on the team with 77 tackles during the regular season, is backed by Antwaun Molden, a fourth-year cornerback out of Eastern Kentucky.
In addition, the Patriots have linebackers Tracy White, in his ninth season out of Howard, and Dane Fletcher, in his second season out of Montana State.
<< Ovechkin skipping All-Star Game
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals general manager George
McPhee told reporters Tuesday that forward Alexander Ovechkin will not
participate in this weekend's NHL All-Star Game.
"Because he's a suspended player
<< Lampard suffers calf injury
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea revealed the extent of Frank
Lampard's injury Tuesday, stating that the midfielder is unlikely to feature
for the Blues in Saturday's FA Cup clash against QPR after scans showed a
slight
<< Mariners sign Millwood to minor league deal
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed veteran
pitcher Kevin Millwood to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring
training.
Millwood made nine starts with the Colorado Rockies late last season
<< AC Milan defender Taiwo joins QPR on loan
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Hughes secured his first signing as
QPR manager, landing defender Taye Taiwo from AC Milan Tuesday on a loan deal
until the end of the season.
Taiwo, 26, brings a wealth of experience to Loftus
Olin to be Stephen F. Austin's offensive coordinator >>
Nacogdoches, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Moses, the 2010 Walter Payton Award
winner, has said his former high school coach helped instill a coach's
mentality in him.
Now Moses will be reunited with Dick Olin at Stephen F. Austin.
Olin is
A's agree to terms on one-year deal with Colon >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics agreed to terms on a one-
year contract with pitcher Bartolo Colon on Tuesday.
After not pitching in the majors in 2010, the 38-year-old former Cy Young
winner returned last season w
PSG's Pastore to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG playmaker Javier Pastore suffered a thigh
muscle tear in Friday's Coupe de France win over Sable-sur-Sarthe and will be
out of action three to four weeks, the French club said Tuesday.
Pastore, 22, was t
Milwaukee's Bennett named MISL Player of Week >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Wave forward Ian Bennett was named the
Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 12.
Bennett recorded 15 points in three games as the Wave maintained their lead in
the MISL Ce
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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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