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07/15/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward David Desharnais to a one-year contract.
Desharnais led Hamilton, Montreal's American Hockey League affiliate, in scoring last season with a franchise-record 78 points. He posted 27 goals and 51 assists in 60 regular-season games, then added 23 points in 19 playoff games.
The 23-year-old Quebec City native made his NHL debut last November and appeared in six games for the Canadiens last season, registering one assist.
Montreal also signed forward Alexander Avtsin to a three-year contract. The 19-year-old Moscow native was selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
<< Rondo, Chandler and Robin Lopez named to USA Basketball team
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was
among three players added to the 2010-12 USA Basketball team, chairman Jerry
Colangelo announced on Thursday.
Also selected were centers Tyson Chandler of th
<< In the FCS Huddle: Stony Brook intriguing on, off the field
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the NIT came to Stony Brook in March,
the Seawolves' football players were in attendance. Similarly, when Stony
Brook hosted NCAA men's lacrosse in May, the football players were there.
The Seawolves,
<< Montana adds four transfers
Missoula, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Head coach Robin Pflugrad of the University of
Montana Grizzlies has announced the addition of four transfers to the roster
this season.
The players are Andrew Badger, Tyrone Duncan, Houston Roots and Antwon
<< Celtic for life: Pierce inks deal with Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics and forward Paul Pierce have
reached an agreement on a new contract.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Boston Herald reported last week
the two sides agreed to a deal for four y
A more patient Billy King becomes NJ Nets new GM >>
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -On the job as the New Jersey Nets' general manager less than a day, Billy King already is deep into the hunt for a power forward.King has spoken to outgoing general manager Rod Thorn, new coach Avery Johnson and more than
Oregon hires Rob Mullens as athletic director >>
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon has hired Rob Mullens to be its new athletic director.University president Richard Lariviere announced the move Thursday, saying Mullens brings a ``deep reservoir of experience.''The 41-year-old Mullens arrives from Kent
Montana State adds JUCO pair >>
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montana State has added junior college
transfers Grayson Galloway and Tyler Potter for the upcoming season.
Galloway, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback, played the last two seasons at
Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior
Wild second half could be on the way >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the National League's first All-Star Game win over the
American League in 14 years now in the books, we turn the page to the second
half of the season, when teams really start to kick it into high gear.
History tells
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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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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