Real travels to TFC looking to build for next season

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Real Salt Lake travels to Toronto FC Saturday for a Major League Soccer clash, it won't exactly be a clash of the titans. RSL is currently second-to-last in the league with just 18 points after 23 games while TFC hasn't scored a goal in nine games - an MLS record 732 minutes.

Both teams still have hope for their seasons, however. RSL won three of five games before dropping one goal decisions to two of the best teams in the league - Houston and D.C. - in their last two fixtures while Toronto is still just nine points out of the final playoff spot, even after falling, 2-0, at Dallas last weekend in a game it very easily could have won.

"I thought the guys played very hard," Toronto coach Mo Johnston said. "They worked hard for each other, created 11 chances. We should have scored. Our guys stuck together and battled hard. The guys are gutted. It's a shame because we should have had something from the game tonight, maybe a point. I don't think Dallas performed very well. We thought behind them numerous times but we just couldn't score."

"That's all it is - effort," RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando goalkeeper said after the loss to D.C. "It doesn't mean anything unless you get three points or a point. Today we showed we've been giving effort all year, but we seem always to lose it at the end or give up a silly goal. Today's the same thing. We give a [good] effort, you know good teams, good games. For some reason we give them away, and that's why we're at the bottom and they're at the top."

While neither team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, chances are slim, meaning finishing the last seven games of the season strong is important for both clubs.

RSL has hope for next season, with a young lineup bolstered by the acquisitions of the Argentinean trio of Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Matias Mantilla to its roster in mid-August.

Toronto, which has been hit hard by injuries this season, at least knows that before the said injuries decimated most of its main attacking players, it was in a position to make a legitimate run at the playoffs, which it can build on in '08.

This will be the second meeting between the two clubs this season, with Toronto getting its first road win in franchise history on July 4 at Rice- Eccles Stadium. Jeff Cunningham scored the game's first goal in the 19th minute when he received a pass from Danny Dichio and broke in on goal alone to make it 1-0. Neither player will be in the Toronto lineup Saturday, however, because of injuries.

RSL got the goal back just before halftime when Alecko Eskandarian converted from the penalty spot after he was sandwiched by Toronto defenders Jim Brennan and Carl Robinson in the box. But Collin Samuel gave TFC their historic victory, converting a penalty of his own in the 79th minute

After Saturday's fixture at BMO Field, Toronto hosts Columbus next Saturday while Real Salt Lake hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.

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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.