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07/30/2010 - Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was held out of practice for a second straight day Friday after again failing to pass his conditioning test.
Haynesworth was held out of the Redskins' first training camp practice Thursday after failing the initial test. Because Haynesworth did not attend the majority of the team's voluntary offseason programs and skipped the mandatory minicamp in June, due to an objection to his role in the team's defense, he must pass the conditioning test.
According to a story on the team's website, players were informed that if they participated in less than half of the offseason programs, they would need to pass a conditioning test before practicing. New head coach Mike Shanahan said he wants to make sure Haynesworth is in shape before putting him in practices.
A two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Haynesworth appeared in 12 games for the Redskins last year, his first after signing a reported $100 million contract as a free agent, and notched four sacks with 37 tackles. He missed four games with an ankle injury.
<< Steelers agree to five-year deal with Pouncey
Latrobe, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms
on a five-year deal with first round draft choice Maurkice Pouncey. He is
expected to be with the team for its' first official practice on Saturday.
Financia
<< A's activate Anderson, disable Bailey
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics made several moves on
Friday, among them reinstating pitcher Brett Anderson from the 15-day disabled
list and placing pitcher Andrew Bailey on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July
21.
<< Fisher flirts with 59, takes Irish Open lead
Killarney, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Fisher fired a 10-under 61 on
Friday to grab sole possession of first place after the second round of the
Irish Open.
Fisher finished 36 holes at 12-under 130 and is three strokes cl
<< Vikings come to terms with RB Gerhart
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly
signed running back Toby Gerhart.
The Star Tribune revealed Friday that Gerhart, the 51st overall draft pick
back in April, was given a four-year, $3.767 mill
Hat Trick: Jets bring back Coles for third time >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets and wideout
Laveranues Coles have renewed relations.
The Jets' Twitter page on Friday revealed the signing, and while terms have
yet to be released, the New York Post repo
Cowboys' WR Bryant injured >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez
Bryant suffered an apparent right ankle injury during Friday's practice.
Bryant was helped off the field after colliding with a defender toward the end
of the se
Twins send P Blackburn to minors, place INF Punto on DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins demoted pitcher Nick
Blackburn to Triple-A Rochester on Friday to make room for newly acquired
reliever Matt Capps.
Blackburn, who received a four-year, $14 million contract la
Stewart tops in qualifying at Pocono >>
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart claimed the pole for Sunday's
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 after posting the quickest lap in qualifying
at Pocono Raceway.
Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, turned a lap of
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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