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03/03/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said on Wednesday that center Paul Gaustad will miss at least a week of action because of an upper-body injury.
Gaustad was hurt in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins during an altercation with Mike Rupp late in the game. The 28-year-old has just nine goals and 16 points in 49 games this year, but leads the team with a 59.5 faceoff percentage.
"Someone is going to have to pick up the slack," said Ruff. "Derek Roy's percentage in the last five, six games has gone way up so he'll become a real key faceoff guy for us."
<< Greece moves into top 10 in FIFA Rankings
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-
Cola Men's Rankings was released on Wednesday, and for the first time since
June 2008, Greece has returned to the top 10.
The top four teams remain unchanged
<< 2010 West Coast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the 10th year in a row, the Gonzaga
Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, as they finished
12-2 within the league. The Bulldogs are out to repeat in this tournament
after winning th
<< Maple Leafs flip Skoula to Devils for draft pick
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defenseman Martin Skoula is on the move again,
this time from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New Jersey Devils.
The Maple Leafs acquired Skoula, along with forward prospect Luca Caputi, from
the Penguins late
<< Bruins send Morris back to Phoenix
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired defenseman
Derek Morris from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a conditional pick in the
2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Morris spent parts of five seasons with the Coyotes before b
Alexander set for Burnley return >>
Burnley, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Burnley midfielder Graham Alexander has
declared himself fit after a five-week calf injury absence.
The veteran Scotland international has been sidelined since late January but
is hoping to make hi
Bruins pick up Seidenberg from Florida >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman
Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect from the Florida Panthers in exchange for
forwards Byron Bitz and Craig Weller, as well as a second-round pick in the
2010 NH
Bulls release G Hunter, sign Richard >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls released veteran guard
Lindsey Hunter and signed forward Chris Richard to a contract for the rest of
the season on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Hunter appeared in 13 games this season an
Mutuel Field early favorite in second Kentucky Derby Future Wager >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second Kentucky Derby Future Wager of
2010 picks up where the first ended. The mutuel field is the 7-2 morning-line
favorite among the 24 betting interests.
The pool begins Friday at noon (et) 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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