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03/17/2010 - Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have released outfielder Elijah Dukes.
The team announced the news Wednesday in a brief release, which did not provide a reason for the move.
Dukes, 25, was expected to be the Nationals' starting right fielder this season. The Washington Post reported on its website that manager Jim Riggleman said it was strictly a baseball decision and that the team liked some of its other options for the position.
Last year with the club, Dukes batted .250 with eight home runs and 58 RBI in 107 games.
Over three major league seasons with Tampa Bay and Washington, Dukes has hit .242 with 31 homers and 123 RBI in 240 games.
<< Hornets resume important trip with bout against Warriors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets resume a five-game road trip in
Oakland tonight, aiming for a season sweep of the woeful Golden State
Warriors.
New Orleans has already topped the Warriors three times this season and will
be aimin
<< Jazz seeking to extend Timberwolves' season-long misery
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a potential mismatch on the NBA docket, the Western
Conference power Utah Jazz welcome the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves to Salt
Lake City tonight.
The Jazz, who are currently the fourth seed in the West, snapped a rare
<< Rockets to host Grizzlies in key conference clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a virtual must-win situation for a pair of Western
Conference teams in desperation mode tonight as the Houston Rockets host the
Memphis Grizzlies at the Toyota Center.
Historically the Grizzlies haven't had a lot of s
<< Raptors return home to face Hawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to hold on to a playoff berth that's beginning to
slip away, the Toronto Raptors return to the Air Canada Centre this evening
for an important matchup with an Atlanta Hawks team that figures to be without
its lea
Jones relieved by injury news >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland have been boosted by the
news that striker Kenwyne Jones' hip injury is not as serious as was first
feared.
The 25-year-old frontman had to be replaced at halftime of the 1-1 draw w
Pompey's point deduction confirmed >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Premier League have confirmed that
basement side Portsmouth have been docked nine points for entering
administration.
The penalty was a formality after Pompey were forced to go into adm
Dowie confirmed as new Hull manager >>
Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iain Dowie has been confirmed as the new
manager of Premier League strugglers Hull City, following the sacking of Phil
Brown earlier in the week.
Dowie has been handed the task of trying to keep the
Bridge out one month for City >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City left-back Wayne Bridge
has been ruled out for around a month after being forced to undergo surgery to
correct a hernia problem.
The 29-year-old, who recently retired from international
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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