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07/20/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will announce the signing of free agent guard Luke Ridnour on Wednesday.
The team scheduled a press conference to introduce the former Milwaukee Buck, who agreed to a four-year deal worth close to $16 million last week, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Ridnour, a seven-year NBA veteran, averaged 10.4 points and 4.0 assists over a full 82-game schedule for Milwaukee last season. He averaged 21.5 minutes per game off the bench after starting 50 games for the Bucks a year earlier.
Since being drafted 14th overall out of Oregon in 2003 by Seattle, the 29- year-old has appeared in 516 games for the Sonics and Bucks and averages 9.4 points and 4.8 assists.
<< League voids Kovalchuk's deal with Devils
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NHL has rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year,
$102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils on grounds that it
circumvents the league's salary cap.
The report is according to TSN Canada.
The
<< Mora, Francis help Rockies rout Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle
and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies
dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series
at Sun
<< Mora, Francis help Marlins rout Rockies
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle
and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies
dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series
at Sun
<< NCAA probe on agent dealings extends to Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA's investigation into possible
improper dealings with sports agents has reportedly reached the University of
Alabama.
A number of schools have had athletes' names surface in an increasi
Angels' home run parade leads to rout of Yankees >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Napoli, Maicer Izturis and former Yankee
Hideki Matsui each hit a two-run homer to lead the Angels to a 10-2 win over
New York at Yankee Stadium.
Napoli finished with four RBI for the Angels, who capt
Cardinals cruise behind Carpenter to top flailing Phils >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter allowed just one run in eight
strong innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the struggling
Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1, in the second of four games at Busch Stadium.
Carpenter
Alvarez, Pirates hang on to beat Brewers following nine-run first >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Pedro Alvarez hit two homers,
including his first career grand slam, as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored nine
times in the first inning and held on to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-9, in
the sec
Hafner's clutch double gives Indians win over Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Hafner's RBI double in the eighth
proved to be the difference, and the Cleveland Indians extended their winning
streak to a season-best six with a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Hafner finish
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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