Legendary UNC hoops coach Dean Smith suffering from memory loss

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The family of former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith issued a statement Saturday addressing the health of the college basketball icon.

The statement acknowledged Smith is suffering from a progressive neurocognitive disorder that affects his memory, but added he still enjoys an active lifestyle and has continued his relationships with current head coach Roy Williams, former players, friends and family.

"Our dad is almost eighty years old, so it's expected that he might show signs of aging. After spending an entire lifetime without a visit to the hospital except to see players and friends, he had to undergo two procedures in the past three years: a knee replacement surgery and a repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. But what other people may have noticed - and what has been speculated about recently in the media - is that our dad may not remember quite like he used to," the family's statement began.

"Coach Smith wanted to keep his professional and personal life separate. But as we all know, the personal and professional life can sometimes overlap, and we understand that many fans, former players, and friends are concerned about his well-being. In trying to balance our dad's wishes and the genuine concern so many people have for Coach Smith, we want to update you about his health, but ask that you respect his privacy. Our dad has a progressive neurocognitive disorder that affects his memory. So now, he may not immediately recall the name of every former player from his many years in coaching, but that does not diminish what those players meant to him or how much he cares about them.

"Throughout his career, he has always preferred the spotlight be on the Carolina basketball program and the University, rather than himself. We hope that you will understand and respect his wishes. Thank you for your consideration and well wishes for our dad."

The 79-year-old Smith spent 36 years at the helm of North Carolina basketball and retired in 1997 with the most wins in NCAA history. His 879 victories has since been surpassed by Bobby Knight. Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, Smith led the Tar Heels to two national championships and 11 Final Four appearances. In 2006, he was inducted to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.

Blackjack-online-blackjack NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Yankees' Burnett leaves with hand injury
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett left Saturday's game against Tampa Bay with lacerations in his right hand. Burnett allowed an RBI single to Carlos Pena in the third inning and was immediately

<< Tolliver in record book at American Century Championship
Tahoe, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Joe Tolliver, the former NFL quarterback, netted 33 points on Saturday in the modified Stableford scoring system to take the second-round lead of the American Century Championship. Tolliver finished two

<< Red Sox activate Delcarmen among other moves
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated pitcher Manny Delcarmen from the 15-day disabled list among a host of moves made Saturday. Delcarmen last pitched on June 30 and had been on the DL with a right forearm strain

<< Le Toux sinks Toronto with late PK
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Le Toux's penalty kick in the 94th minute helped the Philadelphia Union claim a dramatic 2-1 win over Toronto FC at PPL Park on Saturday. Toronto equalized nine minutes from time through Chad Bar

<< Yankees' Burnett leaves with undisclosed injury
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett left Saturday's game against Tampa Bay with an undisclosed injury. Burnett allowed an RBI single to Carlos Pena in the third inning and was immediately visited

Bayne captures Nationwide pole at Gateway >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Bayne claimed the pole for Saturday's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race after topping the qualifying charts at Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis. Bayne po

U.S. World Cup winner Chastain retires >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time FIFA Women's World Cup winner Brandi Chastain, famous for removing her jersey following the winning penalty kick in the 1999 final, retired from professional soccer Thursday. Chastain helped

U.S. captain Bocanegra joins St. Etienne >>
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States captain and defender Carlos Bocanegra transferred from Rennes to St. Etienne in France's Ligue 1 on Saturday. Bocanegra, 31, started all four matches for the U.S. in the recent FIFA

Life At Ten is tops in Del 'Cap >>
Stanton, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Life At Ten took the lead shortly after the start and proceeded to dominate in winning Saturday's $750,000 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park. The victory in the 1 1/4-mile race

Roughriders rally in fourth quarter to down Eskimos >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darian Durant threw for 238 yards and one touchdown to lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 24-20 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium. Durant also added 49 yards on the ground for t

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.