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05/13/2010 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Longhorns guard Varez Ward and forward Shawn Williams have each been granted a medical hardship waiver by the Big 12 Conference for the 2009-10 season.
As a result, Ward will be a redshirt sophomore for the 2010-11 season, while Williams will be a redshirt freshman.
The players were lost to injuries early this past season. Ward ruptured his right quadriceps tendon in pre-game warmups for a November 24 contest against Pittsburgh, and underwent surgery on December 1. Ward had started Texas' first three games of the season and averaged 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.
Williams suffered a left ankle injury December 12 against Texas State, and missed the rest of the year after having surgery on January 20. He played in seven of the Longhorns' first eight games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.7 boards in a little under six minutes per contest.
<< Sharks downplay regular season results vs. Chicago
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Evgeni Nabokov views his 45-save masterpiece in Chicago the same way he does the seven-goal outburst the Blackhawks had in San Jose during the regular season.Both are absolutely irrelevant once the Western Conference finals be
<< Twins become players in international scouting
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Miguel Angel Sano wasn't just a prized Dominican prospect to the Minnesota Twins.Plenty of teams were in hot pursuit of the 16-year-old shortstop last fall, including heavy hitters on the international market like the New York Yank
<< Wild sign minor league team's top scorer, Daoust
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Jean-Michel Daoust (dowst) to a one-year contract.Daoust was the leading scorer last season for the Houston Aeros, Minnesota's affiliate in the AHL.The 26-year-old Daoust had 21 goals and
<< Columbus signs French midfielder Griffit
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew signed French midfielder
Leandre Griffit, who played in the English Premier League with Southampton, on
Thursday.
Griffit last played with Union Royale Sportive du Centre of the Belgian
Both conference finals to start Sunday >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League announced that both
the Eastern and Western Conference finals will begin on Sunday.
In the West, the top-seeded San Jose Sharks will host the Chicago Blackhawks
in Game 1 at 3 p.m.
Munoz leads by one in Alabama >>
Mobile, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Azahara Munoz fired a seven-under 65 Thursday to
grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Munoz, a tour rookie, is not only looking for her first win, but also her
firs
Nationals minor leaguer Bynum suspended >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington National minor league infielder
Seth Bynum was suspended 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine, a
performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug
Prevent
Jones the early leader in Texas >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Matt Jones posted a six-under 66
Thursday to take a one-shot lead after one round of the Texas Open.
Jones, who is looking for his first PGA Tour title, is coming off back-to-back
top-10 finishes
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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