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09/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins pitcher Adalberto Mendez left Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies with a right quad strain.
Mendez, who pitched six shutout innings, singled in the seventh, but came up lame at first, grabbing the front of his right upper leg. He was forced to exit in favor of pinch-runner Hector Luna.
Making his major league debut, Mendez allowed only one hit and two walks while fanning six in an excellent start. He left the game with the Marlins leading, 2-0.
<< Anelka confirms international retirement
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France striker Nicolas Anelka confirmed his
retirement from international soccer on Monday having been given an 18-match
suspension by the French Football Federation for his conduct at this past
summer'
<< Miyazato remains No. 1 in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato remained No. 1 in the world
rankings for women's golf for the third week in a row.
Miyazato grabbed the No. 1 ranking from Cristie Kerr following a win on August
22, her third victory on th
<< Kuyt sidelined by shoulder injury
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands striker Dirk Kuyt is
expected to miss the next few weeks after he suffered a shoulder injury in
training, Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk confirmed on Monday.
Kuyt sustained the
<< Rockies reinstate Daley from DL
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies reinstated pitcher Matt
Daley from the 60-day disabled list on Monday.
Daley had been on the DL since June 16, retroactive to June 11, with right
shoulder inflammation. He was transf
Seahawks sign DE Brock >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive end
Raheem Brock, according to his agent's Twitter account.
Brock was cut by the Titans in training camp this year after spending eight
seasons with the Colts. I
Ravens add WR Houshmandzadeh >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens added depth to the
wide receiver position by agreeing to contract terms with T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
A report from NFL Network says the deal is thought to be for one year and
$855
Wells, Hill help Jays rout struggling Rangers >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells hit a three-run homer and Aaron
Hill clubbed a two-run shot, as the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 7-2 decision
over the American League West-leading Texas Rangers in the opener of a four-
game se
Djokovic cruises into U.S. Open quarters >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Novak Djokovic
handled American Mardy Fish on Monday to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S.
Open.
The third-seeded Djokovic drubbed a lethargic 19th-seeded Fish in surgeon-like
6-3
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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