Roenick, Hatcher brothers head 2010 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class

Hockey Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Roenick headlines a list of five members that make up the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

The class, which also includes Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Art Berglund and Dr. V. George Nagobads, will be enshrined on October 21 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York.

"These five individuals truly represent the very best of our sport in many different facets, and their contributions have been truly extraordinary," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA hockey. "We look forward to their formal induction in Buffalo this October."

Roenick spent 20 seasons in the NHL with Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Jose and registered 513 goals and 1,216 points in 1,363 career regular season games. He was named an NHL All-Star nine times and is the second-highest American-born goal scorer in league history.

The 40-year-old advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals once, with Chicago in 1992, and also played in two Olympic Winter Games.

Derian Hatcher played 16 seasons as a feared defenseman with the Minnesota/Dallas franchise along with Detroit and Philadelphia. His most notable accomplishment was becoming the first American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup -- with the Stars in 1999. In 1,045 regular season games, Hatcher scored 80 goals and recorded 331 points.

Kevin Hatcher, Derian's older brother, spent 17 seasons in the NHL as a defenseman with Washington, Dallas, Pittsburgh, the Rangers and Carolina. He scored 34 goals during the 1992-93 season to become one of only seven defenseman in league history to surpass 30 goals in a season, and scored 227 times overall in 1,157 career regular season games.

Berglund had an extensive career in international hockey that spanned five decades, serving on the administrative staff of more than 30 U.S. teams in several worldwide tournaments. He served as the general manager of nine U.S. Men's National Teams and eight U.S. National Junior teams and was also involved with six U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Teams.

Dr. Nagobads served 34 years as the team physician for the University of Minnesota men's ice hockey program and also served in the same role for five U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Teams, among many other American international hockey teams. He also spent some time serving as a physician for the Minnesota North Stars from 1984-92.

He was also physician for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team that captured the gold medal in Lake Placid.

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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.