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05/19/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves outfielder Matt Diaz underwent a procedure on his infected right thumb on Wednesday and there is no timetable for his return, the club announced.
The surgery was done by Dr. Gary Lourie in Atlanta.
Diaz was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday after going hitless in one at-bat in a 6-5 win over Arizona on Friday.
The 32-year-old had been scuffling prior to the injury, hitting only .178 with five runs batted in over 26 games this season.
<< Just as Well pointed to Arlington Million XXVIII
Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a second-place finish in
last Saturday's Dixie Stakes at Pimlico, Just as Well is on the road to this
year's Arlington Million at Arlington Park.
The 1 1/4-mile race, a furlong more t
<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Can Ronaldo regain form for Portugal?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal's maiden voyage into the World
Cup in 1966 ended with a third-place finish based largely on the scoring
exploits of Eusebio, and to date, it remains the country's best performance.
But a
<< Galaxy head to Dallas without Donovan, Buddle
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy face their toughest test
of the season to date when they travel to take on FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park
in Major League Soccer action on Thursday night.
The Galaxy will be playing their
<< Devils sign pair of blueliners
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils signed defensemen Eric
Gelinas and Dan Kelly, the club announced Wednesday.
No terms of the deals were released.
Gelinas was the Devils' second round choice, and 54th overall, in the
Cubs place P Caridad on DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time this season, Chicago
Cubs pitcher Esmailin Caridad has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.
He spent his first stint on the DL from April 12 through May 8 with a right
forearm
Wilson Chandler charged with marijuana possession >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler was
charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana after the drug was
found in the car he was driving Tuesday night.
A spokeswoman for Queens District
Red Sox put Beckett on DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett has
been put on the 15-day disabled list due to a lower back strain.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW...
Indians' Sizemore put on DL; Cabrera has surgery >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have placed center
fielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list with a deep bone bruise on
his left knee.
The team also announced that infielder Asdrubal Cabrera underwent s
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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