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08/09/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros recalled pitcher Mark Melancon from Triple-A Round Rock and sent left-hander Wesley Wright to the same club on Monday.
The 25-year-old Melancon came to Houston in a July 31 trade along with infielder Jimmy Paredes from the New York Yankees for first baseman/outfielder Lance Berkman.
The right-handed throwing Melancon had two relief outings with the Yankees this season, spanning four innings and compiled a 9.00 earned run average.
He appeared in 43 games between the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Round Rock and went 7-1 with a 3.41 ERA, recording seven saves.
Wright, 25, has appeared in 10 games, making four starts for Houston in 2010 and has a 1-2 mark to go with a lofty 6.28 ERA.
The Astros also announced that right-hander Nelson Figueroa will take Wright's spot in the starting rotation beginning Saturday against Pittsburgh.
In 21 games -- one start -- between the Astros and Philadelphia this season, Figueroa is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA.
<< Red Sox earn split with Yankees in the Bronx
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Hall had an RBI single and scored a run, and
Jon Lester worked 6 1/3 effective innings, as the Boston Red Sox held on for a
2-1 win over the American League East-leading New York Yankees in the finale
of a fo
<< Arbitrator rules that Kovalchuk is a free agent
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the NHL in
regard to Ilya Kovalchuk's contract with the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils signed the free agent sniper to a 17-year, $102 million contract in
mid-July and the
<< Tigers activate Guillen, option Rhymes
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers recalled infielder Carlos
Guillen from his rehab assignment with Single-A West Michigan and activated
him from the 15-day disabled list on Monday.
The move comes just prior to the s
<< Cowboys TE Phillips out for year with torn ACL
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys tight end John Phillips
will miss the entire 2010 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his
right knee.
He will have surgery when the team returns from Oxnard, CA, where it wi
Devil Rays put Jeff Niemann on DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays placed right-handed pitcher
Jeff Niemann on the 15-day disabled list due to a right shoulder strain.
Niemann, who is 10-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 22 games this season, was scratched
from his s
Ticats ownership withdraws support for new stadium >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have withdrawn
support for a new stadium in the city, which would have been a replacement for
their current home as well as an enticement for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
The Hamilto
No longer an enemy, Taylor enjoying life with Jets >>
CORTLAND, N.Y. (AP) -Jason Taylor was despised by Jets players and fans for years. And, the feeling was mutual.The former Miami Dolphins star is one of them now, and he's enjoying his first camp with New York. He says things have gone smoothly since
Broncos' Dumervil slated for surgery, season in jeopardy >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos linebacker Elvis Dumervil is
reportedly to have surgery Tuesday to repair a torn pectoral muscle and could
miss the entire 2010 season.
The Denver Post, which first reported the severity of th
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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