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09/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adalberto Mendez pitched six shutout innings in his major league debut, and the Florida Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1, in the first of two games Monday at Citizens Bank Park.
Mendez (1-0), 28, who has spent eight seasons in the minors with the Cubs and Marlins, allowed just one hit and two walks with six strikeouts before getting injured. He singled in the seventh, but strained his right quad running to first base.
Mike Stanton, mired in a 3-for-45 slump, went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Marlins, who have won five of six. Dan Uggla added three hits, three RBI and a run scored in the win, while Chad Tracy also homered.
Vance Worley (0-1) pitched well in his first career start, allowing just two runs, six hits and a walk while fanning five in five innings for the Phillies.
Jayson Werth's RBI single accounted for the Phillies' offense, as Philadelphia lost its second straight following a five-game win streak.
<< Djokovic cruises into U.S. Open quarters
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Novak Djokovic
handled American Mardy Fish on Monday to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S.
Open.
The third-seeded Djokovic drubbed a lethargic 19th-seeded Fish in surgeon-like
6-3
<< Wells, Hill help Jays rout struggling Rangers
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells hit a three-run homer and Aaron
Hill clubbed a two-run shot, as the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 7-2 decision
over the American League West-leading Texas Rangers in the opener of a four-
game se
<< Ravens add WR Houshmandzadeh
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens added depth to the
wide receiver position by agreeing to contract terms with T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
A report from NFL Network says the deal is thought to be for one year and
$855
<< Seahawks sign DE Brock
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive end
Raheem Brock, according to his agent's Twitter account.
Brock was cut by the Titans in training camp this year after spending eight
seasons with the Colts. I
Walker, Pirates shut down stumbling Braves >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker's two-run homer in the sixth
inning proved to be the difference, as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the
Atlanta Braves, 3-1, in the opener of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Jose Tabata a
Espinosa powers Nationals to win over Mets >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Espinosa had the best game of his
very young career as he hit a grand slam and a solo home run to lead the
Washington Nationals to a 13-3 rout of the New York Mets in the opener of a
three-g
Team USA thumps Angola to reach quarterfinals >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups led a 121-66 rout of
Angola with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range, as Team USA
rolled into the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championships.
Kevin Durant,
Roberts, Orioles top Yanks to start series in Bronx >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Roberts' seventh inning single drove in the
winning run as Baltimore downed New York, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game
set.
Roberts finished 3-for-5 with two RBI while Matt Wieters knocked in a run and
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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