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09/03/2010 - Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nationwide Insurance will become the presenting sponsor of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament beginning in 2011.
The company has committed to sponsor Jack Nicklaus' popular tournament, held annually at Muirfield Village, through 2016.
Nationwide has been the title sponsor of the PGA Tour's developmental circuit since 2003. Its deal for the Nationwide Tour expires in 2012.
<< Bruins sign Wyatt Smith
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have signed forward Wyatt
Smith to a one-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Smith spent last year with Pittsburgh's American Hockey League affiliate in
Wi
<< 12 Tar Heels out for LSU game amid NCAA probe
Twelve players from North Carolina won't play in the 18th-ranked Tar Heels' opener against No. 21 LSU in Atlanta on Saturday amid an ongoing NCAA investigation.The school said Friday that six players - defensive ends Robert Quinn and Michael McAdoo,
<< No. 16 GaTech favored against SCarolina State
ATLANTA (AP) -Paul Johnson didn't know what to expect when making his debut as Georgia Tech's coach in 2008.As it turned out, Johnson inherited some pretty good talent from former coach Chan Gailey, including four players - Demaryius Thomas, Jonatha
<< Line of Scrimmage: Your Guide to the 2010 NFL Season
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two summers from now, you'll be reading -
or perhaps choosing to disregard - this piece at least one week earlier.
Given the forceful recent rhetoric emanating from NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell and the
Myers opposes red-hot Hudson in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trade deadline pick-up Daniel Hudson can continue a
sterling National League debut tonight when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the
Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series at Chase Field.
A 23-year-old from Lynch
Cards hope to revive postseason hopes in opener with Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Cardinals faced the Reds, they completed
a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the
National League Central.
The teams have drastically gone in opposite directions since.
F
Nats, Pirates open set in the Steel City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ageless right-hander Livan Hernandez can reach double-
digit wins for the 11th time in his big-league career tonight when the soon-
to-be-shorthanded Washington Nationals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the
first of three
Greinke goes for Royals in opener with Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Zack
Greinke can continue a recent hot streak tonight when the Kansas City Royals
host the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game weekend series at
Kauffman Stadium.
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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