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02/02/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes re-signed starting center Bryan Chiu to a one-year contract plus an option.
Chiu started 16 games last year for the Grey Cup champions and was selected to the East Division All-Star squad for the ninth time in his career.
"I'm honored to have another opportunity to be part of this team and defend our championship," Chiu said. "It's truly a privilege to have been a part of the Alouettes for as long as I have been, and it was great to get to share the Grey Cup with the people of this province and to see them smile."
On July 18 last year, Chiu set a record by playing in his 204th game as an Alouette.
<< Nuggets top Kings in OT on Afflalo's jumper
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arron Afflalo poured in 12 points, including the
game-winning jumper with 18.4 seconds left in overtime, as the Denver Nuggets
stayed hot at home with a 112-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the
Pepsi C
<< Emery, Flyers blank new-look Flames
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Emery posted his third shutout of the
season behind 18 saves, and the Philadelphia Flyers topped a new-look Calgary
club, 3-0, at the Saddledome.
Mike Richards' 100th NHL goal in the game's second
<< Oilers snap 13-game skid, beat Hurricanes
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Deslauriers made 15 of his 33 saves in
a scoreless third period, as Edmonton topped Carolina, 4-2, to halt a
miserable 13-game losing streak.
With the win, the Oilers avoided matching their lo
<< Jazz stay hot, use big fourth quarter to drop Mavs
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Millsap scored 25 points as the
Jazz posted their season-high sixth straight win, 104-92 over the Dallas
Mavericks.
Deron Williams returned from a one-game absence and notched 18 points
BC to play BU for Beanpot title >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston College will take on Boston University in
the championship game of the 58th annual Beanpot tournament after both schools
won semifinal contests on Monday.
Boston College advanced to the title game with
Rangers acquire Jokinen from Flames >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames made their second big trade
in less than two days, moving forwards Ollie Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the
New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Ales Kotalik and Christopher
Higgins
Spartans and Badgers meet in Big Ten tussle >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Michigan State Spartans will
attempt to remain perfect in Big Ten play when they pay a visit to the 16th-
ranked Wisconsin Badgers, who are undefeated at home this season.
Michigan State is rid
Wildcats invade Lincoln to take on Cornhuskers >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats head out
to the road for two straight games, starting tonight in Lincoln, when they
take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Big 12 action at the Devaney Center.
The Wildcats ar
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.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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