Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/08/2010 -
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - ``Reed!'' ``Reed!'' ``REEEEEEED!''
Jim Haslett kept yelling Reed Doughty's name, trying to get the safety's attention at a Washington Redskins practice this week.
Doughty didn't respond because Doughty couldn't hear. Finally, several teammates went over and tapped him on his shoulder, making him aware that he was wanted by the defensive coordinator.
``The communication between us is not great,'' Haslett said. ``Because when I yell, I get louder - and he still doesn't hear.''
Beginning his fifth season in the NFL, Doughty is one of the great survivor stories of pro football, having overcome several gut-wrenching physical and psychological setbacks - any one of which might have caused a weaker athlete to throw in the towel. Yet the 27-year-old with the boyish face is still plugging away, and he is expected to be in the starting lineup Sunday night when the Redskins open the season against the Dallas Cowboys.
``Perseverance is one of his strongest traits,'' safeties coach Steve Jackson said. ``You can't knock a good man down, and he's a good man. He's had a lot of things try to knock him down.''
Consider the hurdles listed in the Reed Doughty bio:
- He was a sixth-round pick from Northern Colorado, a Football Championship Subdivision school that averages about two draftees per decade.
- He's had hearing loss his entire life, inherited from his father. It gets worse as he gets older. It stumped the coaches when he was a rookie in 2006.
``For a guy to be so smart, he used to always make a lot of mistakes. And no one knew why. You look at him, and every time you say something, he's really looking at you, at your face and everything. And you're like, `Gah, he really pays attention. Why doesn't he know anything? He must be a dumb son of a ...,''' said Jackson, his voice trailing off into a laugh.
``But he was looking at you,'' Jackson continued, ``to read your lips.''
Jackson realized he should no longer talk while writing on the whiteboard during meetings - because his back was turned to Doughty. Jackson therefore developed a whole new rhythm: Write something, turn to speak, write something, turn to speak.
``His play picked up,'' said Jackson, snapping his fingers, ``like that.''
- Also in 2006, Doughty's son Micah was born six weeks prematurely and had chronic kidney failure. After long days of practice and meetings at Redskins Park, Doughty would go home and help his wife hook up their son to a dialysis machine. When Micah was 19 months old, he had finally grown enough to accept a kidney transplant. The donor was Doughty's wife, Katie.
Micah turned 4 last week. Doughty beamed with pride at the mention of the milestone.
``He's doing phenomenal,'' he said.
- In 2008, Doughty had a serious nerve problem in his back. It spread, causing numbness in one foot. He was placed on injured reserve in early October and had surgery. Not too many people were expecting him back in 2009.
``It was scary,'' Doughty said. ``There were a lot of doctors saying this was something you may never come back from, but the surgeon that did it told me I think this is something you'll come back from and do quite well. So I just trusted God that no matter what happened I'd be healthy just so I could play with my kids. And if I could play football on top of it, that would be awesome. And I just worked hard in rehab and it worked out.''
Doughty is returning the favors as much as he can. It takes nearly a full column in the media guide to list his volunteer work with groups such as the National Kidney Foundation and the Spinal Research Foundation.
While Micah is doing well and the back injury is firmly in the rearview mirror, Doughty and his teammates and coaches still have the daily challenge of dealing with his hearing loss. He now wears a hearing aid in meetings, but it doesn't work on the field because it can't filter out all of the background noise from the crowd.
When Doughty is in the game, he often stands near middle linebacker London Fletcher to hear the defensive call, then relays a separate call to the rest of the secondary. The Redskins can trust Doughty with that role because he's studious and knows the play book well.
Doughty and fellow safety LaRon Landry have also become adapt at using hand signals to communicate, but messages don't always get through. Landry says there have been times he's tried to alert Doughty to a change in plans before the snap - but to no avail.
``I try to call him and he's over there - he's in tune (to the play) - so I just let him play that side and just adapt,'' Landry said.
But it usually works out because of Doughty's smarts and toughness - not to mention a strong faith that has seen him through all his trials, plus enough humbleness for him to realize his role.
``The coaches trust me,'' Doughty said. ``I may not be a flashy player, but I'm going to make good tackles, make good decisions and execute the game plan.''
Doughty also offered this well-grounded assessment of his hearing loss and hair loss, both genetic and inevitable.
``I'm bald. I'm going to be deaf,'' he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ``And I've got a great family with two great kids, so I'm not worried about it.''
Doughty has started 16 of his 45 games over four seasons. A natural strong safety, he is now working with the first team at free safety only because Kareem Moore is out with a sprained right knee.
Yet, considering all that he's been through, Doughty has accomplished quite a bit. After all, how many players can sum up their career like this?
``Stuff happens, and they trust me to play,'' Doughty said. ``And I'm still here because of that.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Nadal cruises into QFs; Verdasco rallies to shock Ferrer
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal breezed in three sets
over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Tuesday and moved into the quarterfinals
at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament the current world No. 1 has
yet to
<< Mariners hold off A's
Oakland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki registered two more hits in his quest
for his 10th consecutive 200-hit season and drove in a run, as Seattle held
off Oakland, 7-5, hampering the Athletics in their attempt to gain ground in
the AL
<< Latos sets MLB record as Padres top Dodgers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos tossed seven innings of one-run
baseball to set an MLB record, as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in the second test of a three-game series at Petco Park.
Lato
<< Angels release longtime utilityman Quinlan
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels cut ties with utilityman
Robb Quinlan, who has been with the team since 2003.
Quinlan has played sparingly this year, recording only four hits in 33 at-
bats. Never a starter but
Youth movement makes Panthers NFL's youngest team >>
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Carolina Panthers weren't fooling around when they started their youth movement. It's produced the NFL's youngest roster.According to STATS LLC, Carolina's average age of 25 years, 233 days is the most youthful in the leag
Big-time programs square off huge Week 2 matchups >>
JoePa visits the Bear's house. The 'Canes blow into the Horseshoe for a rematch of the 2002 national championship game. Florida State's first big game post-Bowden takes place in Norman, Okla., a rematch of the 2000 national title game.The second wee
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 8th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
QUARTERFINALS
Spain vs. Serbia, 11 a.m.
Slovenia vs. Turkey, 2 p.m.
Marlins to skip Johnson's next start >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will miss
his next scheduled start because of shoulder and back pain.
Johnson was slated to pitch Friday against Washington, but the Marlins now
plan to start Alex Sana
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.
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."
Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs..
About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting