Canada's youth movement

Golf Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cast in the shadow of the Open Championship which finished this past weekend at St. Andrews, the 2010 installment of the RBC Canadian Open is all set to tee off at the historic St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, ON from July 22 - 25, 2010.

The renowned Stanley Thompson-designed course, which first opened in 1929, has been the host of the Canadian Open on four occasions, but none since 1968. St. George's has also been the host of the LPGA Classic on five occasions and most recently the du Maurier Champions, also known as the Canadian Senior Open.

Well regarded as a course that demands accurate ball striking, spectators will be treated to an exciting finish across the club's signature final four holes. The 2010 PGA season has been an unpredictable journey to say the least, deemed by many as the start of the Tiger Woods post-scandal era. With Tiger yet to play up to the standard he's repeatedly set for himself since first joining the PGA back in 1996, more and more tour pros are getting a taste of being the last man standing come Sunday. In 2010, there have been 10 first-time winners on the PGA Tour, most notably Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open, and last weekend Louis Oosthuizen at the Open Championship.

This growing shift in power from one player to the rest of the field offers inspiring hope to the Canadian contingent vying for Canada's top golfing trophy and a tournament purse worth $5.1 million USD. With only four players out of the top 20 in the World Golf Rankings playing this week, the trophy is very much up for grabs which bodes well for the deep Canadian team.

Led by the recently inducted Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir, Canada's hopes rest with a mix of young guns and proven veterans who make up fourteen of the 156 total competitors in this year's Championship.

TEAM CANADA

2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir has had a rough year so far posting only one top-10 finish this year, coming at the Bob Hope Classic. Considered a long shot to win, Weir has struggled this year due to his poor ball-striking, ranking 189th of 190 players on tour. Since losing in a playoff to Vijay Singh at the 2004 Bell Canadian Open, Weir has yet to contend on a Sunday for his nation's most coveted golfing prize. Meanwhile, if there is one player in the field not to discount before teeing it up on Thursday, it's Weir. As he has done so many times in the past, Weir will be carrying the weight of a nation as the most popular and successful Canadian golfer of his generation.

Canada's second most well-known golfer, 2009 Players Champion Stephen Ames, has experienced an up and down season thus far recording only one top-10 and six top-25 finishes. Ames, an outspoken fan of St. George's, likes the chances of a Canadian contending come Sunday based on Canadian players' familiarity of the tight layout. It may be Ames who likes his own chances best on a course that rewards players who can hit a high percentage of greens in regulation and follow with a birdie putt. These are coincidentally his two best statistical categories on tour this year.

The future of Canadian golf has emerged during the 2010 season and his name is Graham DaLaet. The 28-year-old PGA Tour rookie is coming off the round of his career last Saturday at the Reno-Tahoe Open after carding a bogey-free 62 that tied the course record. DaLaet has enjoyed a consistent season boasting nine made cuts and a third place finish at the Shell Houston Open making him the logical pick for the low Canuck this week at St. George's.

Joining DaLaet in competition are six other Canadian golfers under the age of 30.

"They are among the best young golfers in the world and we are certain to see exciting play from them as they compete with the PGA TOUR's biggest and best names at St. George's in July," said Scott Simmons, Golf Canada's Executive Director and CEO, in a recent press release.

The standout of this promising group is Canada's best amateur golfer - Nick Taylor. The 2007 Canadian Amateur Champion and recent recipient of the 2010 Ben Hogan award as the nation's top collegiate golfer, is expected by many to capture multiple Canadian championships before his career is out. The University of Washington senior will be turning pro after the U.S. Amateur in August, and will offer us a glimpse of what to expect for many years to come.

Other notable Canadians competing in the 2010 RBC Canadian Open: Ted Brown, Ben Boudreau, Dave Bunker, Cam Burke, Matt Hill, Barrett Jarosch, Eugene Wong, Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Jon Mills, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir

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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.