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03/08/2010 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - According to a report on the soccer blog 3rd Degree, FC Dallas has agreed to terms with former Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
Hartman, a 13-year Major League Soccer veteran, was unable to come to terms with the Wizards this offseason and has been without a contract since the end of the 2009 season. Because there is no free agency in MLS, FCD will have to come to an agreement with the Wizards for the rights to the veteran 'keeper before a deal can be made official.
Hartman, who has played 333 MLS games while recording a 1.24 goals-against average and a 146-120-64 record, will reportedly join goalkeepers Dario Sala and Josh Lampo on the FCD roster.
<< Spurs' Parker won't need surgery for broken hand
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker won't
need surgery for the broken bone in his right hand.
Parker was examined Monday by Dr. David Green and the initial diagnosis of a
non-displaced stable fracture o
<< Kansas returns to top spot in hoops poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas is back atop the men's basketball
world, taking the top spot in the Associated Press poll for the third time
this season.
The Jayhawks (29-2) were the preseason No. 1 and spent the first eig
<< Stewart leads NHL's Three Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Avalanche right wing Chris Stewart,
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos and Florida Panthers defenseman
Bryan McCabe have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending March
7.
<< A's come to terms with P Bailey, 28 others
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey was one
of 29 pre-arbitration players to agree to contracts for the 2010 season.
Bailey made 68 appearances for Oakland last season, posting a 6-3 record with
26 saves
Rachel Alexandra debuts in New Orleans Ladies >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year,
is set make her 2010 debut this Saturday at the Fair Grounds in the $200,000
New Orleans Ladies. The 1 1/16-mile test has attracted four females to take
on the
Steelers sign WR Battle, S Allen >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday signed
wide receiver Arnaz Battle and safety Will Allen to three-year contracts.
Battle spent seven seasons with San Francisco, which selected the Notre Dame
product
Union sign Colombian midfielder Torres >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union signed Colombian
midfielder Roger Torres on loan from America de Cali of the Columbian First
Division, the Major League Soccer club announced on Monday.
"We're very excited t
Rams add DT Robbins >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams on Monday bolstered their
defense with the signing of tackle Fred Robbins. Per club policy, terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Robbins, 32, spent the last six years of his career with
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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