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07/14/2010 -
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -The agent for Luther Head says his client is healthy and the New Orleans Hornets have not offered a reasonable explanation for why they rescinded a two-year contract offer for the veteran guard.
Mark Bartelstein says the Hornets informed him that Head failed their physical. The agent says the manner in which the Hornets rescinded the deal and the timing of the move were ``unsettling.''
Bartelstein says he had a deal on Saturday with former Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, who stepped down on Tuesday.
The agent also says that by failing Head on the physical, the Hornets have unfairly hurt his ability to sign with another club.
The Hornets have not formally acknowledged there was a deal with Head.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Griffin advances through first round of match play
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke-play medalist John-Tyler Griffin was
among those that advanced past first-round match play at the 2010 U.S. Amateur
Public Links Championship on Wednesday.
Griffin, 23, edged Andrew Perez 1-up at B
<< Peavy undergoes successful season-ending surgery
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy underwent
successful surgery on Wednesday to repair a detached latissimus dorsi muscle
in his right posterior shoulder.
The injury will sideline Peavy for the remainder o
<< Georgia's Jackson to transfer following arrest
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Dontavius Jackson, one of two Georgia players arrested on alcohol-related charges last week, is transferring from the university after spring semester.Coach Mark Richt suspended Jackson for at least six games after the sophomore wa
<< British Open Championship Hole-By-Hole Preview
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
HOLE ONE - Par 4 - 376 yards: On the opening day of the Millennium Open this
seemingly benign hole was rated the second most difficult on the course. A
total of 36 players scored bogey or double-bogey ag
Seattle, D.C. could welcome reinforcements for MLS clash >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Major League Soccer clubs that sit
second-from-the-bottom in their respective conferences square off on Thursday
night when D.C. United hosts Seattle Sounders FC at RFK Stadium.
Both teams have
Jazz, Bell agree to terms >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz have reportedly signed
guard Raja Bell to a three-year contract worth $10 million.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Bell was scheduled to meet with the Lakers
on Wednesday before com
Toronto comes back in fourth to top Calgary >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Johnson scored a late touchdown and
Toronto scored 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as it stunned the
Calgary Stampeders at Rogers Centre, 27-24, in its home opener.
Defense was key fo
Report: Bobcats agree with G Livingston >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats have reportedly agreed
to sign guard Shaun Livingston to a three-year contract worth $10.5 million.
The Charlotte Observer first reported the deal, while The Washington Post
report
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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