Boston's Ortiz named AL Player of the Month
Baseball Betting Lines
06/02/2010 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz
earned American League Player of the Month honors for May.
After a slow April, Ortiz erupted with a .363 average and 10 home runs in 23
games in the season's second month. He also recorded four doubles and 27 RBI
while compiling an MLB-leading .788 slugging percentage.
The 34-year-old, who now has four career monthly awards, reached base in 21
games during the period.
The runner up for the honor was Texas Rangers designated hitter Vladimir
Guerrero, who batted .330 with 10 home runs and an MLB-leading 31 RBI.
<< Bynum's knee refills with fluid after procedure
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Four years into his NBA career, Andrew Bynum is still trying to make it through his first full postseason.The oft-injured Los Angeles Lakers center went through a limited practice Wednesday for the first time since having his balky
<< Carlesimo joins Raptors staff
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors added former NBA and
college head coach P.J. Carlesimo as an assistant on Wednesday.
Carlesimo was last seen on NBA sidelines for the Seattle/Oklahoma City
franchise before be
<< Altintop extends Bayern deal
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop
signed a one-year extension to his contract on Wednesday that will keep him
with the Champions League finalists until 2011.
Altintop made 15 appearances in le
<< Mine That Bird puts in work for Lukas
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas had 2009
Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird workout Wednesday morning at Churchill
Downs. The four-year-old gelding worked a half-mile in 48 seconds with his
regular
<< Ducks sign Brookbank to extension
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Sheldon
Brookbank to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday. Financial terms of
the deal were not released.
The 29-year-old appeared in 66 games last season for A
Boston's Lester named AL Pitcher of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester was
named the American League Pitcher of the Month for May.
Lester was a perfect 5-0 in six outings during May. He allowed just 24 hits
over 44 innings and led
Braves' Glaus named NL Player of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves first baseman Troy Glaus has
been named the National League Player of the Month for May.
Over 28 games during the month, Glaus drove in an NL-best 28 runs with six
homers and scored 17 ti
Rockies' Jimenez voted NL Pitcher of the Month again >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez has been
named the National League Pitcher of the Month for May, the second straight
month the right-hander has been awarded with the honor.
In six May starts, Jimenez
Padres activate Scott Hairston from DL >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres activated outfielder
Scott Hairston from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday.
He had been on the DL since May 16 with a strained left hamstring.
Hairston suffered the injury in a
Yankees activate Jorge Posada >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Jorge Posada has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and inserted into the New York Yankees lineup as the designated hitter for their game against the Baltimore Orioles.The 38-year-old catcher has not played since May 16 beca
What Is the Point Spread?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
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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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
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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