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09/01/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox made several moves for the September 1 roster expansion.
The club reinstated infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the 15-day disabled list and recalled pitcher Dustin Richardson from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Patterson had been out with a neck strain since August 17. Prior to the setback, the utilityman, who was acquired from Oakland on June 26, hit .254 with two homers and six RBI in 29 games with the Sox. He collected two doubles, a triple, three stolen bases and scored four runs in four rehab games with the PawSox.
Saltalamacchia was sidelined with a mysterious infection in his lower right leg that struck him two weeks ago. In his four-game rehab stint in Pawtucket, he batted .333 with two doubles, one home run and four RBI. He saw just three games with Boston after an August 11 recall from Triple-A.
Richardson will see his third stint with the Red Sox this season. In two previous tries, the 26-year-old has yet to record a decision but has allowed three earned runs in 10 1/3 innings over 19 relief appearances with the big club.
<< Big Ten set to announce realignment
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten is set to announce its divisional
realignment Wednesday evening and early reports have the controversial split
of longtime rivals Michigan and Ohio State in place.
According to an earlier report
<< Tar Heels DE Austin suspended indefinitely
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina senior defensive end Marvin
Austin has been suspended indefinitely.
Tar Heels head coach Butch Davis made the announcement on Wednesday, just days
before the team's season-opener against LSU
<< NHL extends deadline on Kovalchuk deal
NEW YORK (AP) -The NHL has extended its deadline to Friday for approving Ilya Kovalchuk's $100 million, 15-year contract with the New Jersey Devils.The league and the NHL Players' Association announced the new deadline Wednesday.The NHL has already
<< Drake to play in Africa in 2011
Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Drake University football team will play
in the first American football game on the continent of Africa next year.
Drake, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, will play an all-
star team
Big South announces four-year extension with Stony Brook >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big South Conference announced on
Wednesday a four-year extension of a football agreement with associate
football member Stony Brook.
"Stony Brook has been an outstanding football mem
Suddenly surging Astros sweep catatonic Cards >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer as part of a
four-run fifth inning, as the Houston Astros completed a three-game sweep of
the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5-2 win at Minute Maid Park.
Michael Bourn added a
Celtics bring back Delonte West >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have signed free agent guard
Delonte West.
Terms of the deal were not released, but the Boston Herald reports it is a
non-guaranteed contract for the upcoming season.
West was an origi
Royals catcher Kendall to have shoulder surgery >>
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Jason Kendall, who had been the Kansas City Royals starting catcher in 118 of their first 132 games, will undergo shoulder surgery Friday in Los Angeles for a torn right rotator cuff.Royals manager Ned Yost said the recovery t
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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