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06/02/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was named the American League Player of the Month for May, the second consecutive monthly honor for the major league RBI leader.
Hamilton becomes just the fourth player and first in the AL to earn the distinction in the opening two months of the season, compiling a .322 average (37-for-115) with eight home runs, 29 RBI and 22 runs for the month.
The first overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft topped the AL in RBI and total bases (71) for the month and ranked second in extra-base hits (16).
After personal problems nearly derailed the five-tool player's career, Hamilton is unexpectedly challenging for the AL Triple Crown, leading in home runs (15) and RBI (63), while ranking third in batting average (.328).
<< Federer, Ferrer move into French quarters; Bryans fall
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time runner-up Roger Federer and world
No. 5 David Ferrer were among Monday's fourth-round winners at the French
Open.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer handled Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-4,
7-5, 7
<< Santos wins Mexican Clausura title
Mexico City, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Santos drew Cruz Azul 1-1 in
Sunday's second-leg final and won the Mexican Clausura 3-2 on aggregate after
Santos won the first leg 2-1 on Thursday.
Sunday's draw saw Argentine striker Emma
<< NBA Finals Preview - Boston vs. LA Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the greatest rivalries in sports will be renewed
in the 2008 NBA Finals, as the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers battle in
a best-of-seven series.
The first two games of the series will be played at
<< Houston's Robinson fined, suspended again
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee
suspended Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson one game and fined him $500
for retaliatory actions against FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha last
Thursda
Berkman named NL Player of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros outfielder Lance Berkman was
named National League Player of the Month for May.
The switch-hitting Berkman hit at a .471 clip (49-for-104), with 11 doubles, a
triple, and nine home runs. The
Giants beef up defensive line with addition of Wynn >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Super Bowl champion New York
Giants signed veteran defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn on Monday.
The Notre Dame product was drafted in the first round by the Jacksonville
Jaguars in the 19
Pats ink OL Ross >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots added veteran depth to
their roster Monday, signing offensive lineman Oliver Ross.
Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.
The 33-year-old is entering his 11th NFL season. The
NFL grants Pacman limited reinstatement >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell notified
previously suspended defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones on Monday that he will
be allowed to join his Dallas Cowboys teammates effective immediately.
Jones will
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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