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07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After snapping their 18-game slide at Progressive Field, the Tampa Bay Rays will try for a series win this afternoon in the finale of their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.
Ben Zobrist's replay-reviewed three-run homer began a stretch of six unanswered runs, as Tampa Bay defeated Cleveland, 6-3, on Saturday.
Carlos Pena also homered for the Rays, who hadn't won in Cleveland since September 28, 2005. It was the longest active losing streak by one club at one particular venue.
David Price (13-5) moved into a tie for the AL lead in wins after allowing three runs, three hits and four walks while fanning five in seven-plus frames. Rafael Soriano earned his 25th save.
Shelley Duncan hit a two-run homer for the Indians, who are 7-2 after the All- Star break. Mitch Talbot (8-9), pitching against the team that traded him last offseason, gave up five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Despite the loss, Talbot managed to tie a team record by striking out six consecutive batters from the first through the third innings. He struck out a career-high eight overall.
This afternoon the Rays will give the ball to Wade Davis, who is looking for his third consecutive victory. The last time the right-hander was on the hill he led the Rays to an 8-1 victory over Baltimore.
In the victory, Davis tossed eight innings, allowing just one run on seven hits. The young hurler surrendered just one walk and struck out three batters. It was the third road win on the year for Davis, who has a lackluster 4.88 earned run average in eight starts outside of Tropicana Field.
Earlier this season the Florida native made his first-ever start against Cleveland and in that outing he grabbed a victory after holding the Tribe to just two runs in seven innings. Davis did allow four hits and four walks, but did strike out four batters as well.
As for the Indians, they will turn to Justin Masterson, who is winless in his last three starts. The young hurler is currently stuck in a major slump, having won just once over his past seven outings.
The last time the hard-throwing right-hander was on the bump, he allowed three runs against Minnesota. In the 6 1/3 innings of work Masterson allowed seven hits, but also collected seven strike outs. Despite the mediocre performance Masterson did not factor in the 4-3 victory.
Earlier this season Masterson surrendered five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits and three walks against Tampa Bay. That outing is similar to Masterson's efforts against Tampa in his career, as the young hurler is just 1-3 with a 6.49 earned run average against the Rays.
<< Golubev wins Hamburg title
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrey Golubev has won his first title in
his second career final, beating third-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 7-5
on Sunday at the German Open.
Golubev, who did not lose a set this week, becam
<< Goerges claims first WTA crown in Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julia Goerges of Germany beat
Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Gastein Ladies
tennis tournament.
The second-seeded Bacsinszky had to wait until Sunday mornin
<< Padres rock Pirates in Latos' return
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera and Oscar Salazar each drove
in two runs and Mat Latos was solid in his return from the disabled list, as
the San Diego Padres dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second test
of a th
<< Osanai wins 3-way playoff in Japan
Chitose, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mamo Osanai won a three-way playoff Sunday
to capture the Japan Golf Tour's Sega Sammy Cup.
Osanai shot a three-under 69 in the final round at The North Country Golf Club
to join Shunsuke Sonoda and Min-Gy
Twins go for series win in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins hope to continue their recent strong
play on the road this afternoon when they close out their four-game series
against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
The Twins have posted just a 22-26 mark awa
Tigers, Blue Jays play two at Comerica >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Due to the postponement of the contest on Friday, the fans
at Comerica Park will get a double dose of baseball this afternoon when the
Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays wrap up their four-game series with a
traditional dou
Braves, Marlins play rubber match in South Beach >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jair Jurrjens tries to win his fourth straight decision
this afternoon when the Atlanta Braves close out a three-game series with the
Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.
Jurrjens has gone 3-0 in his four starts since ret
Padres hope to get the brooms out in Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres will try to complete a three-game
sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon at PNC Park.
The Padres won for the sixth time in eight games since the All-Star break on
Saturday, as Everth Cabrera an
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.
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
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