Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/15/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Nick Stavinoha on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder, the club announced on Thursday.
The move is retroactive to July 12.
Stavinoha, 28, leads the club in pinch hits this season, including a pair of homers. Overall, the right-handed hitter is batting .256 in 90 plate appearances over 57 games.
To fill the roster spot, the Cardinals recalled outfielder Allen Craig from Triple-A Memphis. He is hitting a mere .053 (1-for-19) with two walks in eight games this year.
In other team news, it was announced on Thursday that right-handed pitcher Adam Ottavino, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 4, will undergo a procedure to repair a tear in his throwing shoulder. He was 0-2 with an 8.46 ERA in five games -- three starts -- this season.
<< Retirement gives Caldwell 1st head coaching job
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Robbie Caldwell has a thick drawl thanks to his South Carolina hometown, a place he notes had a population of 1,500 counting cats and dogs.There were so few people he used to hunt dove out of his backdoor.But Caldwell says he
<< AP Source: NCAA probe targets UNC football program
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -A person familiar with the investigation says the NCAA is looking at North Carolina's football program.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is confidential.Athletic director
<< Dolphins DT Ferguson retires
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Jason Ferguson
announced his retirement on Thursday.
Ferguson, 35, played last two seasons for Miami and was recently hit with an
eight-game suspension for a violation of t
<< Hurricanes ink D Rodney
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Bryan
Rodney to a one-year, two-way contract.
Rodney appeared in 22 games with Carolina last season while also spending time
with the AHL's Albany River Rats. While
Graham moves on at U.S. Publinx >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Graham knocked off stroke-play
medalist John-Tyler Griffin in the second round, then ousted Garret Rank
Thursday afternoon in round three to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S.
Amateur
England's Heskey retires from international duty >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England striker Emile Heskey has announced
his retirement from international football.
The 32-year-old's last appearance for his country was when he came on as a
late substitute for Jermain Defoe in
Ronaldinho to stay in Milan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan General Manager Adriano Galliani has
dismissed reports suggesting veteran playmaker Ronaldinho could leave the club
in the summer.
The Brazil star has been linked with a return to his homeland with
St. Johnstone signs striker Parkin >>
Perth, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Johnstone has completed the signing of
experienced striker Sam Parkin on a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old spent last season with Walsall, but was allowed to leave the
Saddlers after scoring three
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting