Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/07/2010 - Varazdin, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia put the finishing touches Sunday on a 5-0 sweep of visiting Ecuador in a best-of-five Davis Cup first-round matchup.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Day 3, Antonio Veic vaulted past Julio-Cesar Campozano 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) and Ivan Dodig drubbed Ivan Endara 6-1, 6-3.
The Croats will face Serbia or the United States in the quarterfinals in July.
Croatia officially eliminated Ecuador on Saturday when its towering doubles pairing of Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic handled an Ecuadorian brothers tandem of Nicolas Lapentti and Giovanni Lapentti, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 7-5.
On Friday in Varazdin, the 6-foot-10 Karlovic got the hosts going by sneaking past Nicolas Lapentti 6-2, 5-7, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4 and the rising 6-foot-6 world No. 9 Cilic made it 2-0 Croatia by peppering Giovanni Lapentti 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on the indoor hardcourt at Gradska Sportska Dvorana.
Croatia, which is captained by Goran Prpic, captured its lone Davis Cup title in 2005. Ecuador, which was in the World Group for the first time in nine years, was led by Raul Viver.
<< Ferrer sends two-time champs into Davis Cup quarters
Logrono, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ferrer whipped Stanislas Wawrinka
in Sunday's first reverse singles match, sending Spain into the Davis Cup
quarterfinals with a first-round victory over Switzerland. The two-time
defendi
<< Slumping Devils attempt to rebound against hard-luck Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils conclude a string of four consecutive
road games with tonight's matchup with an Edmonton Oilers team that'll be
gunning for a rare winning streak.
New Jersey has gone just 1-2-0 thus far on the stretc
<< Ducks to open crucial homestand with visit from Habs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks haven't helped their cause for inclusion
in the playoffs with their performance following the Olympic break. They'll
have a chance to improve those chances with a critical seven-game homestand
that starts up
<< Flyers head back home to take on Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers return to the Wachovia Center for
an important four-game homestand that begins with tonight's encounter with the
road-challenged Toronto Maple Leafs.
Philadelphia just completed a stretch of four co
Twins lock up P Blackburn, sign 20 others >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins on Sunday signed
pitcher Nick Blackburn to a four-year, $14 million contract. The deal also
includes a club option for the 2014 season worth $8 million.
Blackburn started 33
Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas
Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their
first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.
The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalban
Everton cruises past Hull City >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikel Arteta scored his first two goals
of the season, Landon Donovan added a goal and an assist, and Everton defeated
Hull City 5-1 on Sunday at Goodison Park.
Arteta, limited to six EPL matches due to
Czechs settle for 4-1 Davis Cup victory over Belgians >>
Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic wound up with a 4-1
victory over host Belgium in a first-round Davis Cup tie in Bree.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Sunday, Steve Darcis got Belgium on the
scoreboard with a
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.
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting