Browns make it official with McCoy

Football Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract.

Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported it to be a four-year pact worth $4.96 million with a signing bonus of $751,000.

McCoy was selected with the 85th overall pick of the 2010 draft after a stellar career at Texas. He was a First-Team All-America in his senior season of 2009, won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player and set an NCAA record as the winningest quarterback with 45 career victories.

In 53 career starts, McCoy threw for 13,253 yards and 112 touchdowns with 45 interceptions. He also ran for 20 touchdowns and racked up 1,571 rushing yards.

The Browns also signed offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao to a multi-year deal. The Arizona State product was chosen with the 92nd overall pick.

Mysportbook Football Betting News

<< Blanc suspends French World Cup squad
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New France manager Laurent Blanc has decided to suspend the entire 23-man team that took part in this summer's World Cup for their friendly match against Norway next month. Under the direction of former

<< New England Patriots 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATES: July 25th (Rookies), July 28th (Veterans) SITE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA CAMP OBJECTIVES: Apart from Randy Moss, the men Tom Brady will be throwing to on Week 1 are unknown. Wes Welker is unlikely t

<< Cincinnati Bengals 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 28th SITE: Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY CAMP OBJECTIVES: After making the playoffs with what was primarily a ground- control offense last season, the Bengals made a number of moves in the offs

<< Buffalo Bills 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, NY CAMP OBJECTIVES: Chan Gailey, the only new head coach in the AFC in 2010, has some work cut out for him in his first training camp with the Bills. Fi

<< Denver Broncos 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 26th (rookies), July 31st (veterans) SITE: Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre, Englewood, CO CAMP OBJECTIVES: It's going to be a messy summer at the glamour positions for the Broncos. Kyle Orton

Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon >>
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla

Cavaliers sign 2009 first rounder Eyenga >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Christian Eyenga. Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced. The 21-year-old Eyenga was the Cavs' first-round choice and the 30th o

Bacsinszky, Meusburger advance in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland and Austrian veteran Yvonne Meusburger were among the quarterfinal winners Friday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Bacsinszky, the highest-rem

Choi takes 1-shot lead in Sweden >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi took the lead Friday at the Scandinavian Masters with a five-under 67 in the second round. Choi finished 36 holes on the Stadium Course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club with a nine-under 135, movi

Dallas puts road unbeaten run on line at Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas has not lost on the road since April and puts its six-match road undefeated streak on the line Saturday at Toronto FC, which is one of three Major League Soccer teams still unbeaten at home. FC Dall

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Sportsbook Betting Lines

Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.

“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.

“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “

What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?

There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).

Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).

How the Opening Line Is Made

The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.

Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.

Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.

Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.

The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.

A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.

Why Sports Betting Lines Change

Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:

Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game

Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)

The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.

Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.

For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.

Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."

“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”

To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.