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09/03/2010 -
When Fresno State visited Cincinnati last season, the Bulldogs outgained the Bearcats, controlled the ball for nearly 44 minutes and still ended up on the losing side of a 28-20 game that still rankles coach Pat Hill.
While Fresno State controlled the game on the ground with 145 yards on 38 carries from eventual first-round pick Ryan Mathews, Cincinnati capitalized on a key interception and a quick-strike offense orchestrated by quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Mardy Gilyard to win the game.
All three of those players were drafted by NFL teams, providing a very different look to the rematch in this year's season opener Saturday night in Fresno, Calif.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< D.C. United, Columbus clash again in league play
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United interim coach Ben Olsen called
Wednesday's loss to the Columbus Crew in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals "cruel,"
but now the struggling squad will try to bounce back in Major League Soccer on
Saturda
<< Phillies reinstate Gload from DL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have reinstated
outfielder/first baseman Ross Gload from the 15-day disabled list.
Gload was placed on the DL with a right groin strain on August 21, retroactive
to August 19. He
<< Dallas aiming to extend unbeaten run with TFC coming to town
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas set a record last weekend after
earning a scoreless draw at Columbus, going 10 straight Major League Soccer
road fixtures without a loss.
On Saturday, the Hoops (9-2-10), one of the league'
<< Report: Lions' Suh fined for hit on Delhomme
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong
Suh has reportedly been fined for his hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake
Delhomme.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Suh, the second pick in April's d
Rangers activate Nippert from DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers made a series of roster
moves on Friday, including activating pitcher Dustin Nippert from the 15-day
disabled list.
Nippert landed on the DL on July 20, one day after he was struck i
Carpenter tops Power for first IndyCar pole at Kentucky >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ed Carpenter earned his first pole in the IZOD
IndyCar Series after edging points leader Will Power in Friday's qualifying
for the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Carpenter, making just his thir
Twins promote P Fox, two others >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have purchased the
contract of pitcher Matt Fox from Triple-A Rochester.
The right-hander is slated to start Friday's series opener against the Texas
Rangers. It will be his major
Eagles trade for OL Wells, cut 10; Abiamiri to PUP >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have traded for
Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Reggie Wells, the team announced Friday.
The 29-year-old Wells, who was acquired in exchange for an undisclosed 2011
draft
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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