Preseason NFL

I have never understood the idea behind placing any action on preseason NFL games, but obviously some people are smarter than me........I have a feeling those people are the ones accepting the wagers, but that's just me. How can you judge a game that you have no idea what the lineup will consist of after at the most a quarter? The starters are always going to play very limited minutes, especially in early preseason games and a large portion of their replacements is made up of guys who have never played a down in a professional football game. Now, if you think this is wise to place your money on a game like this then please be my guest. I have placed many stupid wagers, but placing money on the spread or total in a preseason game is ridiculous.

I am suddenly reminded of a quote from National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation: "You don't know when to quit, do ya Griswold?... Here's an idea: Why don't you give me half the money your were gonna to bet, then we'll go out back, I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it a day!"

How to Bet Baseball

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I will try and do better. Here's a great article from Covers.com about betting on baseball - Covers.com. I thought it may be timely since there isn't too much out there to be betting on right now. It has some really great tips for anyone who doesn't have that much experience betting on baseball.

Celtics Win

I hope some of you took my play for the series - Celtics +160. Easy Money!!!!!

Donaghy Drops NBA Bombshell

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who has already been disgraced by a gambling scandal, filed a letter in Brooklyn federal court today alleging NBA referees fixed a game in the 2002 NBA Playoffs to make the series go 7 games. This alleged game was in the Western Conference finals between the Lakers and the Kings. Check out the full story from the LA Times HERE.

No NBA Finals Action For Harrah's

Harrah's has been barred from taking any bets on the NBA Finals because Harrah's top executive, Gary Loveman, owns a stake in the Boston Celtics. Loveman, bought a 2.4% stake in the team last year and this prevents the casino from taking any bets on the team. Read the full story HERE.

NBA Finals

Ok, it looks like the lines for the NBA Finals have settled at the Celtics -2.5 and 192 for the total in most places. Those #'s are not very surprising to me, but what is very surprising is the series odds - Lakers -200 & Celtics +160. What?? Am I reading this correctly? I'm really surprised that the Lakers are even favorites for the series, but by this much? I don't think so......

Check out all the current odds and line movements at scoresandodds.com

1st Lines Out For NBA Finals

Ok, my Pistons +130 didn't work out so well, but tomorrow's a new day. The first NBA Finals lines are starting to come out for game 1. Right now 5 Dimes has Game 1 at Boston -3.5 and the total at 194. I'll try and update as the lines refresh tonight, but I think I will wait on making my series pick for now.....

Rip Says He Will Play

Well, my Pistons +130 play may still have some life after all. Rip says he's fine and "ready to go." I don't believe this qualifies as an official medical clearance, but who cares. I'll take what I can get. Check out the full story @ ESPN.com

Sasha Vujacic Just Made a Lot of People Angry

I'm assuming by tomorrow morning Vujacic's name will be cursed by the masses for his unnecessary and ill-advised 3-pointer at the end of the game to make the final score 100-92 in favor of the Lakers. Of course this tiny and irrelevant detail to most of the audience, is a HUGE detail to the gamblers in the audience. The main reason that this particular unnecessary shot by the Lakers was a HUGE detail in this game is because most books had them between -7.5 and -8. I didn't have any money on this game, which is probably the reason I can post this, but I have experienced both wins and losses in this excruciating manner. In the past, I've been as delirious with disbelief as those who had LA at -7.5 or -7, as relieved/frustrated as those who had LA -8 and as insanely furious as those who had the Spurs +7.5 because they chose not to buy the 1/2 pt. Feel free to vent your frustrations to Sasha here because if anyone understands, its me.......trust me.

Will Rip Play Friday?

Looks like the Pistons are still unsure whether Rip Hamilton will be available to play against the Celtics tomorrow night. Hamilton suffered an elbow strain in last seconds of the Celtic's 106-102 win Wednesday night. According to ESPN, his status will not be determined until tomorrow. My play from earlier, Pistons winning series +130, isn't looking so good.....

Full Story @ ESPN.com

Hot Lines For Today

Check out covers.com for today's best MLB bets.

covers.com

Today in the NYT - Betfair

Today's New York Times has more on the tennis scandal and Betfair's role

Don't Miss Anything

Be sure and take advantage of everything this blog has to offer and scroll down to see the various live gaming feeds we have listed for you.

NBA Eastern Conference Championship

The Pistons are currently sitting at +130 for the series against the Celtics. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'll take that +130 all day long. Any other opinions?

Check out the current NBA odds here -

LIVE ODDS

Gambling Scandal in Tennis?

Personally, I've never placed any money on a tennis match, but I'm sure there are plenty of you who have. It looks as though tennis may the next professional sport with a cloud of suspicion hanging over it.

Covers.com - The Stats Engine

This program is in beta and is free to try, so I encourage everyone to check it out. I will be doing the same. Comments are welcome about your experience.

BIG BROWN!!

WOW, is all I can say about Big Brown. If you just watched the Preakness then you know Big Brown is for real. That horse looked like he was just jogging alongside the others who were racing their heart out down the backstretch and apparently he was because when he finally began racing as well, he pulled away from the pack like they were standing still. That was just an incredible win.

The Preakness

The 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes is tomorrow at Pimlico Race Course. As everyone knows, the heavy favorite is Big Brown who is 1/3 of his way to a Triple Crown and he has drawn the #7 post. Of course I have to insert this here - Big Brown could be "the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years" (Affirmed, 1978). Every year during these 2 weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness practically every single racing article you read begins with this quote, seriously. I always thought this seemed really silly and a little over-hyped since it is inevitable that one horse will be 1/3 of their way to the Triple Crown after EVERY Derby. The media hype hasn't diminished much, but my personal thoughts on this have changed since Visa dropped their sponsorship of the Triple Crown in 2005, along with the $5 Million bonus. Following this, we have seen a steady decline in the # of horses who race in all 3 races of the Triple Crown, highlighted by this year's Preakness field that includes only 2 horses from the Derby - Big Brown & Gayego (finished 17th in Derby). It appears the excitement and rivalries that were witnessed in the past during these 5 weeks of spring that begins with the Kentucky Derby and ends with the Belmont Stakes, has all but vanished......at least for now. Since Visa dropped its sponsorship of the $5 Million Triple Crown Bonus, there have been no other offers to sponsor the prize. Without this huge incentive for horses to race in all 3 races, many trainers have opted to hold their horses out of the Preakness due to the high costs required to have a horse race in all 3 races. While this is certainly understandable from the trainers' standpoint, it means the wonderful rivalries of years past may be forever a memory. We may never again witness the likes of Affirmed & Alydar and Easy Goer & Sunday Silence. Hopefully, both of the original Triple Crown bonuses will find a sponsor in the next few years and these 5 weeks can be returned to their past glory and excitement.

This blog has been created to give all players, no matter your experience, honest and reliable information about online gambling and online sportsbooks. I encourage all visitors to participate and leave comments about their personal online experiences. If you play online for any period of time, you will most likely run across a bad gaming site or sportsbook at least once. There are many reasons for this, but the most obvious reason is the fact that there are simply too many dishonest sites out there. This, along with too few places like this blog where you can read reviews by real players about their personal experiences at various sportsbooks and make an educated decision about where you play. Hopefully, this will allow us all to have a very enjoyable online gaming experience!!! Good Luck!!!!