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07/25/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez left Sunday's game in the eighth inning after being hit in the top of the left hand by a pitch.
Rodriguez, still seeking his 600th career home run, came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out and bent back from a pitch up and in from Kansas City's Blake Wood but took it on the left hand.
After being looked at by the Yankees' medical staff, he was escorted off the field.
<< Helms' hit in 11th gives Marlins win over Braves
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Helms hit a run-scoring single in the bottom
of the 11th inning, as the Florida Marlins edged the Atlanta Braves, 5-4, in
the rubber match of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.
Helms ended with two
<< Rodriguez leads Houston in blanking of Reds
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez spun seven innings of one-hit
ball and received home run support from Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson, as the
Astros shut down Cincinnati, 4-0, to salvage the last of a three-game set.
Rodrigue
<< Ravens rookie Kindle suffers head injury
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens rookie linebacker Sergio
Kindle suffered injuries to his head after it is believed he fell down two
flights of stairs at a private residence in Austin, Texas.
The Ravens released a
<< Kubel's slam powers Twins past O's
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kubel belted his seventh career grand
slam and Nick Punto had three hits with an RBI as Minnesota blasted Baltimore,
10-4, to conclude a four-game series.
Delmon Young and Jim Thome hit back-to-back
Brewers sweep Nats >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer and
Rickie Weeks clubbed a two-run shot, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a
three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with an 8-3 victory at Miller
Park.
Diamondbacks deal Haren to Angels >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded starting
pitcher Dan Haren to the Angels for starting pitcher Joe Saunders, reliever
Rafael Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Patrick Corbin and a player to be named
later.
Brignac homers as Rays beat Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reid Brignac hit a three-run homer, as the
Tampa Bay Rays earned a 4-2 decision over the Cleveland Indians in the rubber
match of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Carl Crawford also knocked in
Fish downs Isner for Atlanta crown >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish outlasted second-
seeded John Isner in three sets to take home the title at the Atlanta Tennis
Championships.
Fish battled back from a set down to defeat fellow countryman Isner,
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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