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08/12/2007 - Middlesbrough, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy was released from the hospital Saturday after collapsing during a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on the opening day in the English Premier League.
McCarthy hit heads with Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott in the second half. He fell to the ground moments later while talking to a team trainer.
He removed from the field on a stretcher and taken to the hospital but later released. McCarthy is expected to return home with the team.
<< MISL announces 2007-08 home openers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major Indoor Soccer League recently
announced home openers for eight of the nine teams for the 2007-08 season.
The Baltimore Blast host the defending champion Philadelphia KiXX on Oct. 19
to kick
<< Woods poised for another PGA title
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods is well on his way to victory at the
PGA Championship.
The No. 1 player in the world and defending champion only managed a one-under
69 on Saturday, but will take a three-shot lead into the final roun
<< Ankiel's hot bat helps Cards top Dodgers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Ankiel hit two home runs and knocked in
three as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1, in the
middle game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
Ankiel also singled and scored
<< Livingston leads Reds to win over Padres
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Livingston threw a career-best 8 1/3
innings and Jeff Keppinger drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the
San Diego Padres, 8-3, in the second of a three game set.
Livingston (3-2) allowed
PGA Championship Third Round News & Notes >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after Tiger Woods threatened the lowest
score in major championship history, Boo Weekley put up a number that would
have been the talk of Tulsa.
On Saturday, Weekley fired a five-under 65 and moved
Dutch club Groningen signs striker Berg >>
Groningen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dutch Eredivisie club Groningen has
signed striker Marcus Berg to a four-year contract.
Berg, 21, scored 13 goals in 16 matches for IFK Gothenburg in Sweden's first
division this season. Gothenbu
Kvapil finishes strong for win in Nashville >>
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Skinner led the first 102 laps, but Travis
Kvapil finished with a rush to capture Saturday night's Toyota Tundra 200
Craftsman Truck Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway. The No.6 Roush
Racing
Brazilian international joins English club >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League club Chelsea has
completed a deal to acquire Brazil defender Alex from PSV Eindhoven of the
Netherlands.
Alex, 25, helped PSV win three straight Dutch Eredivisie titles. His
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.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.
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