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
02/10/2009 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh will not play in the 2009 NBA All-Star game on February 15 due to a sprained right knee, and it was announced Tuesday that Cleveland guard Mo Williams will replace him on the East's roster.
Bosh, who was set to make his fourth consecutive All-Star appearance, hurt his knee in the fourth quarter of a February 4 game against the Lakers. Bosh hasn't played since that 115-107 loss to the Lakers but said he plans on attending the festivities in Phoenix.
The Georgia Tech product is averaging 22.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in his sixth season in the league.
Williams, making his first All-Star appearance, is averaging 17.1 points and 4.2 assists this season for the Cavs.
<< Wright-Phillips ban frustrates Hughes
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City manager Mark Hughes
insists Shaun Wright-Phillips is unfortunate to be handed a three-match ban by
the Football Association.
The former Chelsea star was given the suspension afte
<< Everton's Pienaar set for short absence
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton has revealed that South Africa
international Steven Pienaar is likely to be sidelined for two weeks with a
hamstring injury.
The South Africa international has been forced to withdraw fr
<< Sunderland's Nosworthy returns to light training
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland defender Nyron Nosworthy has
returned to light training as he steps up his comeback from a hamstring tear.
The 28-year-old former Gillingham star has missed the last five games because
of
<< San Jose signs U.S. veteran Convey to anchor midfield
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes signed United
States national team midfielder Bobby Convey, the Major League Soccer club
announced on Tuesday.
"It is rare to be able to acquire a U.S. international in
Cairo hails improving Torino >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Torino president Urbano Cairo remains confident
his side will be able to avoid relegation and maintain its Serie A status this
season.
The relegation six-pointer against Chievo Verona at the weekend ended 1-
Arsenal's Walcott sets sights on return >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal teen Theo Walcott hopes to return to
first-team action before the end of February.
The 19-year-old has been sidelined since suffering a shoulder injury while on
international duty in November.
Astros agree to terms with Bourn, three pitchers >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros announced Tuesday that
they have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with outfielder Michael Bourn
and pitchers Sammy Gervacio, Polin Trinidad and Wesley Wright.
Bourn, whose contrac
Rangers sign Jones, Donnelly >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers on Tuesday signed
outfielder Andruw Jones and pitcher Brendan Donnelly to minor-league contracts
with invitations to spring training.
Jones was limited to 75 games in 2008, pl
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.
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