Shin replaces Miyazato as women's No. 1

Golf Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jiyai Shin replaced Ai Miyazato atop the world rankings for women's golf following her win Sunday at the lucrative Evian Masters.

Shin birdied the 18th hole for a one-shot victory over three players, assuming the No. 1 ranking for the second time this season.

The 22-year-old South Korean is one of three players who have been No. 1 since Lorena Ochoa's retirement. Shin took over the top spot on the day Ochoa played her farewell round and still had it when she withdrew the Wednesday of the State Farm Classic to have an emergency appendectomy.

Since then, Miyazato and Cristie Kerr have exchanged the top ranking with Shin dropping all the way back to No. 4 at the beginning of last week, behind Suzann Pettersen.

With her win in France over one of the best non-major fields in women's golf, Shin moved up three places to re-gain the No. 1 ranking. Miyazato, Kerr and Pettersen slipped one spot apiece, while Yani Tseng remained No. 5 this week.

The next nine places in the rankings also remained unchanged, with Na Yeon Choi, Paula Creamer, Anna Nordqvist, Song-Hee Kim, Karrie Webb, In Kyung Kim, Michelle Wie, Angela Stanford and Inbee Park occupying positions 6-14 again.

Morgan Pressel, one of the runners-up to Shin, moved up two places to No. 15, bumping Sakura Yokomine and Mi-Jeong Jeon down one spot apiece. Pressel missed a shorter birdie putt than Shin's on the 18th hole to squander a chance to force a playoff.

Chie Arimura and Catriona Matthew remained 18th and 19th and Sun Ju Ahn moved up one place to round out the top 20 following a good showing in France. Matthew will defend her title at this week's Women's British Open.

Alexis Thompson, the 15-year-old rising star, also finished as a runner-up to Shin on Sunday and vaulted 75 places to No. 74 this week. Thompson was trying to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history by almost three years.

Choi was the other runner-up to Shin in France.

Mysportsboo Golf Betting News

<< De Rosario setting bar high for young MLS talent
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a penchant for highlight-reel goals and one of the most unique goal celebrations in the game, it's quite easy to see why Dwayne De Rosario has become such a household name in Major League Soccer. The Cana

<< Revs waive Videira
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution announced on Monday that they have waived midfielder Michael Videira. Videira signed with the Revolution in December 2008 after playing for six months with Hamilton in

<< Re-loaded Angels to begin series with Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In danger of falling out of the race for the American League West crown, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim made a big and bold move in acquiring ace pitcher Dan Haren on Sunday. While it is unknown when Haren can contribut

<< Giants, Marlins ready for clash between scorching teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the hottest teams in baseball square off this evening when the San Francisco Giants welcome the Florida Marlins to town for the start of a four-game series at AT&T Park. San Francisco has won four straight and 1

<< ChiSox seeking to get back on track at Mariners' expense
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A subpar road trip has tightened things atop the American League Central for the first-place Chicago White Sox. A return home against a favorable opponent could help the club get back on track. Chicago seeks a fifth consec

Pettersson climbs 98 spots in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pettersson climbed 98 places in the world rankings following his victory Sunday at the Canadian Open. Pettersson, who was one putt from shooting a 59 on Saturday, rallied to beat 54-hole leader D

Altintop to give it "one more year" at Bayern >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop has admitted this could be his final season with the Bundesliga champions. The Turkey international has found first-team opportunities hard to come by in recent time

Report: Vick cleared by NFL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has reportedly cleared Michael Vick to play after completing its investigation into the shooting that occurred last month outside a restaurant celebrating his 30th birthday. According t

Raul confirms exit from Real Madrid >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul confirmed on Monday that he is leaving Real Madrid after spending the last 16 years at the Bernabeu. The 33-year-old striker is the all-time leading scorer in the club's history with 323 goals in 740

Browns sign second-round pick Hardesty >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie running back Montario Hardesty to a multi-year contract. The Browns selected the Tennessee product in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 draft and expect him t

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

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.