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
07/07/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros infielder Geoff Blum underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Wednesday morning and will miss the next 2-to-4 weeks.
The operation, performed by Dr. Tom Mehlhoff at Texas Orthopedic Hospital, removed three loose bodies from the elbow. Blum is expected to begin range-of- motion exercises within the next three days.
Blum was placed on the disabled list Sunday after experiencing swelling and discomfort in his elbow following Thursday's game in San Diego.
The 37-year-old Blum has struggled to a .241 average with 14 RBI and seven doubles in 59 games this season.
<< Bosh to join Wade in Miami
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While LeBron James is set to unveil which
team he'll play for next on Thursday, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are set to
team up together with the Miami Heat.
The free agent duo declared their intention
<< Schnyder ousts top-seeded Kleybanova in Budapest
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up Patty Schnyder
toppled top-seeded Alisa Kleybanova of Russia in Wednesday's second-round
action at the $220,000 Budapest Grand Prix.
The unseeded 31-year-old Schnyder doused Kleyba
<< Arsenal confirms signing of Koscielny
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal have strengthened their defensive
ranks by signing Laurent Koscielny from French side Lorient for an undisclosed
fee.
The 24-year-old, who joins on a long-term deal, shot to prominence last term
<< Rays closer Soriano to replace Rivera for All-Star Game
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay right-hander Rafael Soriano
was named the replacement for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera for the American
League All-Stars.
Soriano was selected as the next highest ranking reliever not a
Sabres bring in Niedermayer >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with
free agent center Rob Niedermayer on a one-year contract.
The 35-year-old Niedermayer registered 10 goals and 12 assists in 71 games
last season with New Jers
Red Wings re-sign Eaves >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed forward
Patrick Eaves to a one-year contract.
Eaves, 26, scored 12 goals and collected 10 assists in 65 games last season
while donning the winged wheel.
A former
Handicapping the Cliff Lee sweepstakes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What was it that Yogi Berra said, "It's like deja vu all
over again"?
Why do I have the feeling that I have done this before? By this, I mean a
piece in July on where or who is interested in grabbing Cliff Lee at the trade
Report: Jets T Ferguson gets extension >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have reportedly handed
offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson a lucrative six-year contract
extension.
A league source told ESPN the pact is worth $60 million, with $34.8 mill
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.
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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