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08/12/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association and its players' union met on Thursday to discuss the league's collective bargaining agreement.
Both sides issued a joint statement after discussions concluded.
"The NBA and NBPA held a four-hour bargaining meeting today that included constructive dialogue and a productive exchange of information. While we still have much work to do, it was encouraging how many players and owners participated in the process and all pledged to continue to work together. We all agreed to meet again before training camp."
The current CBA was ratified by the league and the players' union in July, 2005, in order to avoid a disaster like the cancelled 2004-05 NHL season affecting the NBA.
Although it is set to expire at the conclusion of the upcoming campaign, the NBA does have an option to extend the agreement through the 2011-12 season. To do so, the league has to exercise that option by December 15.
One of the more stable pro sports leagues in existence, the NBA has not had a labor dispute interrupt play since the start of the 1998-99 season was pushed back from November until early February due to a lockout.
<< Top seeds Jankovic, Wozniacki exit Cincy; Sharapova reaches QFs
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded and defending champion Jelena Jankovic
and U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki were third-round upset victims
Thursday at the $2 million Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, a
hardcourt
<< Bears put Unga on IR
Borbonnais, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears placed running
back Harvey Unga on injured reserve Thursday with a hamstring injury.
Unga was selected in the seventh round of the NFL's supplemental draft and
subsequently
<< Serena, Venus will play in Fed Cup final
White Plains, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters, Serena and
Venus, have committed to play for the United States in the 2010 Fed Cup final
against Italy in November.
The world No. 1 and 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena and w
<< Mets' Rodriguez released from custody, no charges filed
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez was
released from custody following assault charges.
The New York Post reported that Rodriguez, the Mets' closer, was arraigned in
Queens Criminal Court on a char
Bengals RB Leonard diagnosed with mid-foot sprain >>
Georgetown, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals and running back
Brian Leonard received some good news on his injured left foot, as tests ruled
out a season-ending situation.
Leonard suffered what was originally diagnosed as a
Knicks sign second round pick Rautins >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks have signed guard
Andy Rautins, the 38th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft.
The 6-foot-4 Rautins averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 35
games for Syracuse
Twins place P Mijares on DL, promote Manship >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins placed left-handed pitcher
Jose Mijares on the 15-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Jeff
Manship from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday.
Mijares suffered the injury in the
Browns LB Jackson out "weeks" with chest injury >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson will
rest for the next few weeks and then be re-evaluated after suffering a serious
injury to his right pectoral muscle.
Jackson had his 2009 season cut short after
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.
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
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