Trail Blazers hire pair of assistant GMs

Basketball Betting Lines

08/12/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers rounded out their front office staff on Thursday by hiring Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry as assistant general managers.

Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

"I've had the opportunity to work closely with both Bill and Steve and have always been impressed by their tremendous basketball acumen, work ethic and character," said Portland GM Rich Cho. "I am thrilled to have them join me, Chad (Buchanan) and Mike (Born) as part of our front office staff."

The 44-year-old Branch joins the Trail Blazers from the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he worked with Cho for the past three seasons as the organization's director of pro player personnel.

Branch brings 23 years of NBA experience to Portland. From 1997-2007 he was employed by the Denver Nuggets, where he served in several capacities. Prior to that he worked in the Charlotte Hornets' basketball operations staff from 1987-97.

"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work for a team with such a rich tradition, great fan base and talented staff," said Branch. "I look forward to doing everything I can to contribute and help the Trail Blazers move forward and build upon some great pieces."

Rosenberry, 55, broke into the NBA as a scout with Seattle, where he spent six seasons before moving on to Charlotte to take a similar position from 1991-94. He then returned to the Seattle organization in 1994 and lasted 13 years, recently in the role of director of scouting.

Rosenberry also had a stop in Milwaukee before spending 2008-10 with Atlanta, where he was director of pro personnel and college scouting.

"I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with Rich, and while I have tremendous respect for him as a basketball person, he's been a great friend throughout the years," said Rosenberry. "It's exciting to be a part of an organization with a storied history and winning tradition such as Portland's."

Cho was named the Trail Blazers GM on July 19, replacing Kevin Pritchard, who was fired in late June.

Wsmartmoney Basketball Betting News

<< Rangers sale approved by MLB
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has approved the sale of the Texas Rangers from Tom Hicks to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan. The lengthy process finally came to a close Thursday after the Greenberg-Rya

<< Cal hopes lower expectations lead to more success
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -The talk of the Heisman Trophy, a Rose Bowl and BCS bids that was so prevalent around California last year feels as far away as the Golden Bears' last outright Pac-10 title more than a half-century ago.After yet another promis

<< Replacing Gerhart tough task for Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -When it comes to replacing Toby Gerhart and his 28 touchdowns, 1,871 rushing yards and countless big plays, Stanford will have a hard time finding one person to fill the job.Gerhart's running duties will likely be shared by Je

<< UCLA looks for improvement under Neuheisel
LOS ANGELES (AP) -UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel insists he takes no pleasure in his crosstown rivals' troubles.He wants the Bruins to win the Race for Los Angeles because they're better than Southern California, not because the Trojans were tripped up b

<< Oregon expects to excel after offseason turmoil
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -When Oregon's season ended in Pasadena on New Year's Day, it appeared all but certain that the Pacific-10 champions would lead the conference again this fall. But after a tumultuous offseason, the Ducks' outlook in the league is f

UConn G Doty to miss 2010-11 season with ACL tear >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut junior guard Caroline Doty will miss the entire 2010-11 season with a torn ACL in her left knee. Doty started 38 of 39 games and averaged 6.8 points this past season as the Huskies went undef

Jets, Revis will keep talks confidential >>
Cortland, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets and holdout cornerback Darrelle Revis will keep the remainder of their contract negotiations confidential. Revis, who has three years remaining on his rookie contract, wants

Dolphins sign Hobbs >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have signed defensive back Kevin Hobbs and guard Ray Feinga. Hobbs has appeared in 34 games with Seattle and Detroit over the past three seasons. He has 49 career tackles, including 13 s

Capello: Beckham too old for England >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England coach Fabio Capello has signaled an end to former captain David Beckham's international career. The 35-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Socce

United signs striker Bebe from Guimaraes >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United signed 20-year-old striker Bebe from Portugal's Guimaraes on Thursday. Bebe joins Mexican Javier Hernandez as new signings this offseason for United. The 6-foot-2 forward just sign

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.

MySportsbook.com is a must-have for the smart veteran sports investor who enjoys following the odds almost as much as betting them. Simply put, no one offers more betting options and offers them faster than MySportsbook. This football sportsbook is known for its ability to set the early market odds on events without having to worry about weak lines. Professional players are well aware that getting a crack at the early betting line is worth as much as, and sometimes more than, huge bonuses or reduced prices. MySportsbook's fearless, yet smart bookmaking style is what keeps everyone watching, including most other sportsbooks.

This is also a great choice for those who just want to have a worry free, fun experience. The ownership’s motto is “Sweat the game, not the payout”. These are not just decorative words used to fill space on the homepage. MySportsbook aims to give their customers the fastest withdrawals in the industry. Payouts are processed within 24 hours by an online sportsbook that carries our A+ financial rating.

Those who enjoy proposition and future wagers consider MySportsbook.com a top choice. Smaller players who seek large bonuses would do better at their sister book, Sportsbooks.com.

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