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09/09/2010 - Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns signed offensive lineman Billy Yates on Thursday.
Yates, who was released on Tuesday, played in seven games last year for the Browns after starting seven games at right guard for the Patriots in 2008.
The Texas A&M product has made 11 starts and appeared in 32 contests throughout his seven-year career.
The move was made necessary due to the injury to right guard Shawn Lauvao (ankle).
To make room on the roster, the club waived linebacker Titus Brown, who played in four games for the Browns last year.
<< Quarterback Alex Smith now a 49ers captain
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - It's not as if Alex Smith needed the captain tag in front of his name. As quarterback, he's long been considered the leader of San Francisco's offense anyway.He spent the offseason showing everybody why. Smith changed his
<< Rockies uncertain over status of P Cook
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook's status is
uncertain after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his lower right leg on
Wednesday.
Colorado manager Jim Tracy stated on Thursday that it is not known i
<< Cardinals RB Beanie Wells out of practice
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells
did not participate in practice for a second straight day.
Wells, who has been bothered with a knee issue, did not take the field on
either Wednesday or Thur
<< Durant carries U.S. into semis; Lithuania crushes Argentina
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant poured in 33 points on 11-
of-19 shooting, helping the United Stated grind out an 89-79 victory over
Russia in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Russell Westbrook
Cowboys make Austin one of NFL's highest paid receivers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys signed wide receiver
Miles Austin to a six-year contract extension on Thursday.
Though financial details of the agreement were not released, a report on the
team's website stated th
Rockies steal win from Reds, complete four-game sweep >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Nelson stole home in the eighth inning to
help the Colorado Rockies completed a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds
with a 6-5 comeback win.
Jason Giambi hit a two-run home run while Troy Tulowitz
Angels to keep Double-A team in Arkansas >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim announced
they will maintain their Double-A affiliation with the Arkansas Travelers
through the 2012 season.
The Travelers have served as the Angels' Texas League team
Blue Jays claim P Buchholz >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays claimed pitcher Taylor
Buchholz off waivers from the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
Buchholz was designated for assignment on Tuesday after going 1-0 with a 4.50
earned run average over
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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