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08/30/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States men's national soccer team has announced a four-year contract extension for head coach Bob Bradley.
The 52-year-old Bradley engineered the U.S. to an unbeaten mark in group play at this year's World Cup, marking the first time the American men have finished at the top of their group in 80 years. Team USA lost to Ghana, 2-1, in extra time in their first match of the second round.
The contract extension means Bradley will be at the helm for the Americans for their run through qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Bradley has compiled a record of 38-21-8 in four years for the U.S. squad. He holds a 10-1-1 mark in Gold Cup matches, including winning the 2007 tournament.
They also reached the championship match of the 2009 Confederations Cup after a 2-0 victory against then top-ranked and current World Cup champions Spain in the semifinal. The Americans then lost to Brazil in the final, but the second- place finish was the best ever for the U.S. men at a FIFA tournament.
<< Pena guides Rays over Jays
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and
drove in four as Tampa Bay downed Toronto, 6-2, in the opener of a three-game
series at Tropicana Field.
Evan Longoria stroked a pair of hits and knocked in a
<< Chicago's Beckham departs Monday's game
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon
Beckham left Monday's game against the Cleveland Indians after getting hit by
a pitch on the right hand.
Frank Herrmann took over for Justin Germano with runne
<< Texans bring Daniels off PUP list; put Holliday, Tate on IR
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans made a number of moves
Monday, among them bringing tight end Owen Daniels off the physically unable
to perform list.
Daniels passed his physical and is now able to participate in
<< Rockies place Stewart on DL, Barmes returns
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have reinstated
infielder Clint Barmes from the bereavement list.
Barmes will start at shortstop in place of Troy Tulowitzki on Monday as the
Rockies open a critical three-g
Heyward powers Braves past Mets >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Heyward finished 4-for-5 with a three-run
home run, four RBI and three runs scored as Atlanta dominated New York, 9-3,
in the opener of a four-game series.
Martin Prado added three RBI on two hits while
Wilson superb in pitching Rangers past Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Wilson turned in 7 2/3 scoreless
innings to lead Texas over Kansas City, 3-0, in the first of three between the
clubs at Kauffman Stadium.
Wilson (14-5) allowed just two hits and fanned six again
Happ tosses shutout as Astros beat struggling Cardinals >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ tossed a two-hit shutout to lift the
Houston Astros to a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a
three-game set.
Happ (5-2) walked just one and struck out four for the Astros, w
Yankees use the long ball to beat A's and keep up with Rays >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano each had three
hits, including a home run, as the New York Yankees powered past the Oakland
Athletics, 11-5, in the opener of a four-game series.
Nick Swisher went 3-for-4 wi
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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