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08/28/2010 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Noel Prefontaine's 37-yard field goal in the final minute of play proved to be the difference, as the Edmonton Eskimos stunned the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 17-14, at Commonwealth Stadium.
Prefontaine was responsible for all of the points scored in the second half and a total of 11 overall as the Eskimos (2-6) snapped a two-game slide by posting 17 unanswered points to capture the victory.
Edmonton starting quarterback Ricky Ray was pulled early in the game, but came back to move the ball down the field late for Edmonton. Backup Jared Zabransky tossed one touchdown to Arkee Whitlock, but was also picked off twice.
The Roughriders (5-3), now just 1-3 on the road in 2010, were led by Darian Durant, who threw for more than 200 yards, but he was also picked off three times in the setback. Running back Wes Cates scored his league-leading 10th major of the campaign, while James Patrick logged three interceptions and now leads the CFL with a total of six through nine games.
<< Dunn, Nats clobber Cardinals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and
doubled in two more as Washington thumped the Cardinals, 14-5, in the
continuation of a four-game series.
Roger Bernadina had a two-run home run and sco
<< Houston's Myers upends Santana, Mets
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Myers tossed seven strong scoreless
innings while Carlos Lee hit a two-run shot and drove in three runs as Houston
downed the New York Mets, 4-1, in the middle test of three between the clubs
at Citi
<< Mapp's stoppage-time goal helps Union sink 10-man Revs
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union scored two goals in
the final eight minutes of their Major League Soccer match at the New England
Revolution on Saturday night to earn a 2-1 win.
Second-half substitute Justin Map
<< Spiller runs Bills past Bengals
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Spiller debuted in front of the
Bills' faithful and rushed for two touchdowns while Trent Edwards firmed his
grip on the starting quarterback role, as Buffalo defeated the Cincinnati
Bengals
Cabrera's home run carries Cleveland past Royals >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Asdrubal Cabrera's home run leading off the
10th inning was the difference, as the Indians beat the Royals, 4-3, in the
second of three games at Progressive Field.
Cabrera finished with two hits for th
Flacco leads Ravens over Giants >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Flacco played into the third quarter and
passed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-34 efficiency, pacing the
Ravens over the Giants, 24-10, in preseason action.
Flacco was also picked off on
Braden tosses four-hitter as A's down Rangers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Braden threw his second shutout of
the season to lift the Oakland Athletics to a 5-0 win over the Texas Rangers
in the second of a three-game set.
Braden (9-9) gave up just four hits and struck
Johnson's 10th-inning homer gets Rays past Red Sox >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Johnson's leadoff homer to right
field in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted Tampa Bay over Boston,
3-2, in the second of three between the clubs at Tropicana Field.
The hit made a wi
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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