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08/23/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed forward Bryan Little to a multiyear contract, the team announced Monday.
The 22-year-old Little, a restricted free agent, dropped from 31 goals and 51 points in 2008-09 to 13 and 34 in 79 games last season.
Atlanta's first-round draft pick (12th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Little has 50 goals and 51 assists in 206 career games.
<< Raptors' Calderon to miss worlds with leg injury
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon
will miss the 2010 FIBA World Championship after injuring his leg in Spain's
exhibition game against the United States.
Tests Monday revealed Calderon tore a mu
<< Division leaders collide as Rangers host Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers return home to face the Minnesota Twins
in a potential playoff preview when the division leaders square off tonight in
the first of four straight games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Texas, vying for i
<< Red Sox continue homestand with clash against Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox shoot for a third straight win this
evening, when they open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at
Fenway Park.
After dropping the opener of their set with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday,
<< Rookie Nova gets call for Yankees' opener in Toronto
Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Nova makes his first major league start this evening,
when the New York Yankees open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays
at Rogers Centre.
Nova, who pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Yankees
Braves turn to Hudson in opener with Rox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two of the Atlanta Braves' young guns led the way in
a one-sided victory on Sunday, the team will turn to one of its established
stars in hopes of getting a three-game road series with the Colorado Rockies
off to a good
Myers tries to derail Phils' playoff hopes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An outstanding recent stretch has the Philadelphia
Phillies in position for a possible fourth consecutive trip to the postseason.
You can bet Brett Myers will be determined to stop that roll from continuing.
Myers will fa
Cards hope to right ship in Steel City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have fallen out of first place in
the National League's Central Division due to their inconsistent play as of
late. A few games against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates may help get them back
in a groove.
Cubs head to DC without Piniella >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Chicago Cubs begin a six-game road trip with
tonight's first of three straight meetings with the Washington Nationals, they
won't have their manager along for the ride.
Still stunned by the abrupt retirement of Lo
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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