10/06/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Vikings middle linebacker E.J. Henderson has reportedly been placed on injured reserve after dislocating two toes on his left foot, ending his season.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Monday that Henderson, who leads the Vikings in tackles with 27 entering Monday's game at New Orleans, will be replaced on the active roster by left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who was suspended for the first four games of the season. Henderson suffered the injury in the second quarter of Minnesota's loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 4.
A sixth-year player out of Maryland, Henderson has missed only three games in his career. He has spent his entire career with the Vikings, recording a career-best 119 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2007.
<< Sprague, Kevin Harvick Inc. part ways in Truck Series
Kernersville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
champion Jack Sprague has been released as driver of the No.2 Chevrolet, Kevin
Harvick Inc. officials announced Monday.
KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick will assume
<< NASCAR needs to better define its yellow 'out-of-bounds' line rule
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's wild but confusing finish in the
Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway has sparked debate about
NASCAR's rule that makes it illegal for a driver to advance his position below
the ye
<< Bills unsure of Edwards' status after concussion
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bill head coach Dick Jauron was
noncommittal on the status of quarterback Trent Edwards, who left Sunday's
loss to the Arizona Cardinals with a concussion.
Jauron, speaking at a press co
<< Even warm water will keep you hydrated
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I met an old Cuban boxer once at a
Frenchtown bar on St. Thomas. Locals called him "The Champ." It was around
two o'clock in the morning when I asked the aging fighter what his career
record had been. "One hu
Ching's brace earns him MLS Player of Week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching was voted
Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 28, it was announced on
Monday.
Ching scored two goals and an assist on Saturday, leading the Dynamo to a
Red Sox 3B Lowell out, OF Drew in for Game 4 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell's
torn labrum in his right hip will keep him out of the starting lineup for Game
4 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Lowell, who is hitless in eight at-b
NFL Inactives (Monday, October 6, 2008) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for tonight's NFL game.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS, 8:30 P.M. (ET)
Vikings - 3rd QB John David Booty, WR Sidney Rice, S Madieu Williams, CB Benny
Red Sox 3B Lowell off active roster >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell's
torn labrum in his right hip forced the team to take him off the ALDS roster,
making him ineligible for the rest of the series against the Angels and for a
possibl
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 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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