Little Nate highlights NBA All-Star festivities

Basketball Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson will have another chance to defy gravity when he opens defense of his Slam Dunk title Saturday night during the NBA All-Star Game festivities.

Robinson will join Boston's Gerald Green, Orlando's Dwight Howard and Chicago's Tyrus Thomas on NBA All-Star Saturday Night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on February 17. The 5-9 Robinson topped Philly's Andre Iguodala in a dunk-off last year with an attempt assisted by former champion Spud Webb on a bounce pass.

Even though Robinson needed a few tries to top Iguodala, he joined Webb as the only players six feet and under to capture a dunk title. Webb was crowned champion back in 1986.

Robinson will now try to become the first back-to-back dunk champion since Golden State's Jason Richardson turned the trick in 2002 and 2003. Robinson, Green, Howard and Thomas will be judged by former dunk champs and a few Hall of Famers in Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Julius Erving.

Saturday night's festivities will also feature the Three-Point Shootout, Skills Challenge, Shooting Stars contest, Rookie Challenge and Celebrity Game.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki will try to defend his three-point title when he goes against Washington's Gilbert Arenas, Miami's Damon Jones and Jason Kapono, Memphis' Mike Miller and teammate Jason Terry. Nowitzki shot down Arenas and Seattle's Ray Allen in Houston last year.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade shoots for his second straight Skills Challenge title on Saturday. Wade defeated Cleveland superstar LeBron James last year after completing the obstacle course in 26.1 seconds. James finished with a 33.7-second time. Bryant, James and Phoenix guard Steve Nash are the other competitors, but Nash will miss the contest due to a shoulder injury. Hornets guard Chris Paul will take Nash's place in the Skills Challenge.

In the Shooting Stars contest, San Antonio will defend its title after beating out Los Angeles, Phoenix and Houston last year. Each team is comprised of a current NBA player, a former NBA star and a current WNBA player from the city.

The Rookie Challenge will feature NBA rookies versus second-year players in Las Vegas. Raptors rookie Andrea Bargnani will head a list of first- year players, including Jordan Farmar from the Lakers, Minnesota's Randy Foye, teammate Jorge Garbajosa, Memphis' Rudy Gay, Utah's Paul Millsap, Charlotte's Adam Morrison, Portland's Brandon Roy and New Jersey's Marcus Williams.

The Sophomore squad will be comprised of the Lakers' Andrew Bynum, Golden State's Monta Ellis, Charlotte's Raymond Felton, Indiana's Danny Granger, Houston's Luther Head, New York's David Lee, the Hornets' Paul and Utah's Deron Williams.

Iguodala posted 30 points as the Sophomores topped the Rookies, 106-96, last year at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Also on Friday, the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will take place in Las Vegas. The East team will have stars David Arquette, Taye Diggs, Carrot Top, Nelly and others, while the West squad will roll out the likes of Jamie Foxx, Jamie Kennedy, Reggie Bush and Tamika Catchings.

The NBA Developmental League will also have an All-Star Game early Saturday on Center Court at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

On Sunday, the 56th NBA All-Star Game will close out the weekend extravaganza.

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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.

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.