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08/21/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is not in the Yankees' starting lineup for Saturday's game versus Seattle and will likely be out at least through the weekend while battling a lingering calf strain.
Rodriguez returned to New York's lineup on Friday against the Mariners after a three-game absence and was pulled for a pinch-hitter after just one at-bat with tightness in the calf area.
Manager Joe Girardi told the New York Post Saturday that his slugger is not expected to play the remainder of the weekend set with Seattle and could sit for most if not all of a three-game series in Toronto to follow. He added that a DL stint remains unlikely.
Rodriguez has swatted 21 home runs and knocked in 97 runs this year while holding a .265 average through 112 games. His 97 RBI stands second in the majors entering Saturday's slate of games.
Eduardo Nunez is getting his first-ever starting nod at third base Saturday in Rodriguez's stead.
<< Alabama tops preseason AP football poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending national champion Alabama
Crimson Tide are still at the top of the college football world as the top-
ranked team in the preseason Associated Press poll, which was released
Saturda
<< White Sox, Royals set to play two in Kansas City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After falling into second place in the American League
Central standings with a rough stretch over the past few weeks, the Chicago
White Sox hope a series of games against the non-contending Kansas City Royals
will enable the
<< Padres seek to get back in win column versus Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres can restart a win streak and restore
their previous bulge in the National League's West Division tonight when they
visit the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle game of a three-game series at
Miller Park.
<< Marlins continue home series against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins can continue a recent run of home
dominance against the Houston Astros tonight when the two teams meet in game
two of their three-game weekend series at Sun Life Stadium.
The host Marlins won the opener
Hamilton hammered by Hearts >>
Hamilton, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton was on the wrong end of a 4-0
scoreline for the second successive weekend, this time losing to Hearts at New
Douglas Park on Saturday.
Calum Elliot scored the opener and the final goal fo
Bolts' Lecavalier to undergo knee surgery >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier
will undergo minor surgery on his left knee on Tuesday.
The arthroscopic procedure will be performed by Lightning Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Ira Guttentag at the
Phillies reinstate Howard from DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies reinstated first
baseman Ryan Howard from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday.
Howard suffered a left ankle sprain sliding back into second base in an August
1 extra-inning win o
Walcott helps Arsenal batter Blackpool >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Theo Walcott scored a hat trick as Arsenal
rolled to a 6-0 win over Blackpool at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The promoted side was coming off of a 4-0 win over Wigan in its first game,
but things
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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