...ldn't tell you what the city's handle was, just how we did here and our business was up 65 percent.

"That creates so much juice.

"But I'll tell you this: we needed Pittsburgh."

Many vegas Valley sports books kicked off at Steelers minus 4, but 4 1/2s were available throughout the wagering period (including at the las vegas Hilton) and 5s were spotted here and there.

The Palms dove in at 3 1/2.

"We got money from every Seattle fan in the world," Baccellieri said, acknowledging he took "several" six-figure bets.

"We had a lot of late money on the Seahawks, but the money line was fairly balanced."

The Hilton also took a bundle on the Far Northwesterns -- until just before wagering windows were shuttered.

"We had lots of Seahawks backing until a last minute rush on the Steelers," said oddsmaker/supervisor Jeff Sherman.

He also reported a win for the house.

"Parlay cards had a good handle and average win, while props did...more

Swim With the Current - like in football

...Youve probably heard me say over and over that 80% of your return on your portfolio comes from the market and the sector. But what the heck does that really mean?

In June 1998, Investors Business Daily summarized two studies on the causes of stock- price movement in two books: The New Science of Investing, by Dr. Robert Hagen and The Latent Statistical Structure of Securities price Changes, by Benjamin King.

Those studies found that 31% of a company's stock-price action was tied to the market as a whole. Industry group action explained 37%, while broad sector action accounted for 12% of the price movement.

Both studies concluded that only 20% of the price action in a stock was determined by company fundamentals!

Unfortunately, most people were taught backwards. Most think gains and losses are only determined by picking the stock with the right fundamentals! Fundamentals are things like P/E ratio, good management, growth rates, new products, market share, etc. I'd venture a guess and say that most people spend 80% of their time (and sometimes 100% of their time!) trying to find the stock with the best set of fundamentals.

Yikes!

So what happens when a company "with great fundamentals" happens to be in a sector thats on defense? Or what if the whole market is on defense? The company could see their stock price get slammed (yes, even with great fundamentals!).

Say you bought at a stock a few months ago at $40. today it is $20. The company may still be growing like crazy, but the market or the sector dragged it down. If the story didnt change, then didn't the fundamentals just get even better? It has to be a bette...more

Why the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers are the best Team in nfl History

...plan on every team that stood in their way.

The 2005 Steelers overcame more odds, compounded odds, than any other super bowl victorious team has ever had to face. They barely made it into the playoffs, and could have missed the post season altogether had it not been for a couple of weak teams that lost pivotal games. Yet what eventually decided the division championship between the Steelers and Bengals was a tie breaker, the Bengals had 1 more division win. How can a team involved in a tie breaker to decide the division not make it into the playoffs? It could have easily happened to the Steelers this year. But life came back to the team in the very late stages of the season and they were able to grab the last spot on the caboose. The dark horse was dismissed as "previously beaten" by Cinci, and the tone remained the same as the Steelers rode into Indy and stole the upset victory for a chance to play in the Championship game in Denver. By then the dark horse was getting a little more respect, and Denver was wondering what to expect. Their worst fear was to face a team that was in that zone, the unbeatable zone that propels teams to glory. Unfortunately for them, Denvers gut was right, and the Steelers smashed through Colorado and never looked back, handing the Broncos one of those old fashioned respect getter loses that finally cemented them as not only contenders, but favorites to win the big game over the Seattle Seahawks. And it distinguished the boys in black as the only team to eve...more

Champions League Round Up - 23 February 2006

...Chelseas hopes to claim the Champions League for their own took a major setback after Barcelona won the first leg at Stamford Bridge. The Blues had Asier del Horno sent off after 36 minutes but the 5/4 favourites took the lead on the hour through a Thiago Motta own goal.

From then on it was all Barcelona and their breakthrough came with 20 minutes left when Ronaldinhos free kick was glanced in by John Terry for the second own goal of the evening. Samuel Etoo sealed the win for the 9/4 outsiders with 10 minutes left.

Arsenal had better fortune against Spanish opposition, produc...more

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