Sanchez throws gem as Marlins earn split with Giants
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2010 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anibal Sanchez was nearly perfect on the mound as he tossed his second career shutout in Florida's 5-0 win over San Francisco.
Sanchez (8-6), who authored a no-hitter in 2006, gave up just one hit -- a bloop single by Pablo Sandoval in the bottom of the fifth inning -- walked one and struck out eight.
Mike Stanton and Ronny Paulino knocked in two runs apiece for the Marlins, who split this four-game series at AT&T Park and have won 11 of their last 17 games overall.
Madison Bumgarner (4-3) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings for the Giants, while fellow rookie Buster Posey went 0-for-3 to snap a 21-game hitting streak.
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms with their 2010 first-round draft pick, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, the club announced on Thursday. Financial terms were not released. The 6-foot-2, 244-pou
<< Sens re-sign F Regin
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators on Thursday re-signed
forward Peter Regin to a two-year contract.
Regin, 24, registered 13 goals and 16 assists in 75 games with the Senators
last season, his first full NHL campaig
<< Hughes named manager at Fulham
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham named Mark Hughes its new manager on
Thursday and signed him to a two-year contract.
The former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City manager replaces Roy Hodgson,
who left to join Arsenal this offs
<< Kings' Greene sidelined three months following shoulder surgery
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings announced Thursday
that defenseman Matt Greene is expected to be sidelined approximately three
months after recently undergoing shoulder surgery.
Greene, 27, appeared in 75 gam
<< Real Madrid sold its 'soul' to Schalke
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul in Royal Blue? Fitting, I guess, even
if it's tough to imagine. Raul ended his 16-year stay at Real Madrid this week
and started his second life at Schalke on Thursday.
Signed to a "lifetime contract"
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez turned in seven strong innings and Clint Barmes drove in three runs as Colorado blitzed Pittsburgh, 9-3, to stop an eight-game losing skid in the finale of a three-game series at Coors F
Orioles send Tejada to Padres >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles on Thursday traded
veteran infielder Miguel Tejada and cash considerations to the San Diego
Padres in exchange for right-hander Wynn Pelzer.
Tejada batted .269 with seven ho
Broncos come to terms with Tebow >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with
quarterback Tim Tebow, a first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, on
Thursday.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but The Denver Post reports it is a
Steelers sign former Cowboys T Adams >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly
signed veteran and longtime Dallas Cowboys tackle Flozell Adams.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday revealed the deal is for two years.
A former second-ro
Niemi decision expected by Saturday >>
CHICAGO (AP) -Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman expects to learn on Saturday whether his salary cap-squeezed team will be able to keep restricted free agent goaltender Antti Niemi.After Bowman and Niemi's agent, Bill Zito, were unable to reach
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
-
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
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.