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02/08/2012 - Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The final 25 minutes of Roma's match at Catania concluded on Wednesday with neither side able to break the 1-1 deadlock they started the day with.
The match was suspended after 65 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch on January 14 with the game tied at 1-1.
Catania's Nicola Legrottaglie opened the scoring after 24 minutes, but watched as Daniele De Rossi equalized for the capital club four minutes later.
Both goalkeepers were called into action to keep the match level as Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg tipped a powerful shot from Cristian Llama over the crossbar five minutes from time.
Roma also had a late chance as Fabio Borini's close-range effort needed a great reaction stop from Catania goalkeeper Tomas Kosicky to preserve a point for his team.
Catania has drawn its last two games to move seven points clear of the drop zone, with Roma sitting 10 points back of leaders Juventus.
<< Capello leaves England no better than he found it
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The appointment of Fabio Capello as manager of England's
national team in December 2007 was supposed to be a step in the right
direction following the disappointing 18-months that Steve McClaren spent at
the hel
<< Reds, Ludwick complete 1-year deal
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Ryan
Ludwick have finalized a one-year contract.
The deal, reported last month but not announced until Wednesday, includes a
mutual option for the 2013 season.
T
<< Marlins' Bonifacio wins in arbitration
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arbitrators ruled Wednesday in favor of Emilio
Bonifacio against the Miami Marlins.
Bonifacio will make $2.2 million next season instead of the $1.95 million
salary targeted by the team, according to MLB.
<< Ruler On Ice and Shackleford meet in Donn Handicap
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Triple Crown race winners Ruler On Ice
and Shackleford head a field of 11 older thoroughbreds for Saturday's 1 1/8-
mile Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The two four-year-olds will each be
making
Benschop helps AZ join PSV at the top of the league >>
The Hague, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A hat trick from Charlison Benschop
helped AZ Alkmaar on its way to a 6-0 triumph at Den Haag on Wednesday,
allowing the club to join PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table.
AZ slip
Flames give D Smith two-year deal >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed defenseman Derek
Smith to a two-year contract worth $1.55 million on Wednesday.
"Derek came to training camp this year on a two-way contract and played his
way into our startin
Celtic topples Hearts to extend SPL lead >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic moved four points clear of
second-place Rangers on Wednesday after securing a 4-0 win over Hearts at
Tynecastle Stadium.
The Hoops charged out to a three-goal lead in the first 30 min
Air Force fires basketball coach Reynolds >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Air Force men's basketball coach Jeff
Reynolds was fired Wednesday with the team in the midst of a six-game losing
streak.
Athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh made the announcement. Associate head co
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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