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
06/17/2009 - Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Patrick tested positive for the drug Adderall, which he said he took to stay awake for a drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix last season.
He will be able to go to training camp and participate in preseason games, but will be banned from the team's facility starting on September 5 and will not be able to interact with team personnel until October 12.
Patrick caught 11 passes for 104 yards in the regular season last year and hauled in a TD pass in Arizona's Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh. He was expected to compete for the starting job in training camp.
<< Safina rolls into Ordina quarters
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 star
Dinara Safina was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the $220,000
Ordina Open, a final grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The French Open and Australi
<< Oakmont Country Club chosen for 2016 U.S. Open
Far Hills, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Golf Association announced
Wednesday that Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania will be the site
of the 2016 U.S. Open Championship. The tournament will take place from June
16-19.
<< 2011 Public Links Championships awarded to Bandon Dunes
Far Hills, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Golf Association selected
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon on Wednesday as the site of the
2011 United States Amateur Public Links Championship and the Women's Public
Links C
<< Rafa, Venus prepare for Wimbledon defenses
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the category of quick turnaround, the
third Grand Slam event of the year will get underway Monday, as Wimbledon
2009 will kick off just 15 days after the upset-filled French Open concluded
in Paris.
Th
Manuel, Maddon announce All-Star staffs >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie
Manuel and Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon announced on Wednesday their on-
field staffs for the 2009 All-Star Game, to be played at Busch Stadium in the
St. Lou
Rachel Alexandra headed for Mother Goose Stakes >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra
will make her next start in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park
on Saturday, June 27.
Majority owner Jess Jackson made the announcement in a s
Blue Jays place Janssen on DL, select Mills to start Thursday >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays have placed pitcher
Casey Janssen on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right
shoulder and selected the contract of pitcher Brad Mills from Triple-A Las
Vegas.
Pens sign D Goligoski to three-year deal >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins signed defenseman
Alex Goligoski to a three-year contract on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old was the third-leading scorer amongst rookie defenseman last
season with six goals and 14
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