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03/03/2009 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will fly to Vail, Colo., on Wednesday to see hip specialist Dr. Marc Phillipon at Steadman-Hawkins Clinic.
After experiencing right hip tightness at Spring Training, Rodriguez was examined by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad on Saturday. An MRI revealed the formation of a cyst in the hip, and Dr. Ahmad suggested a follow-up with a hip specialist.
"We felt it was in everyone's best interest - for the team and the player - to send Alex to Dr. Phillipon, who is regarded as the leading expert in his field," said Yankees vice president and general manager Brian Cashman. "Alex has proven his durability throughout his career, and we will take every precaution and step necessary to ensure his health as we near the start of the 2009 regular season and beyond."
For his career, "A-Rod" is a .306 hitter with 553 home runs and 1,606 runs batted in. Over parts of 15 seasons with New York, Seattle and Texas, the 33- year-old Rodriguez, who has dominated headlines as of late with his admission to steroids use while playing with the Rangers between 2001-03, has recorded 2,404 hits in 2,042 games.
<< Broncos: Cutler will not be traded
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos released a statement
Tuesday saying quarterback Jay Cutler will remain with the team and will not
be dealt, contrary to published reports.
"The Denver Broncos are not trading Jay
<< Columbus forward Chimera out for remainder of regular season
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera,
who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, will undergo surgery on
Wednesday to repair his injured groin. Chimera is expected to be sidelined for
the rem
<< Coast Guard calls off search for missing boaters
Clearwater, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Coast Guard held a news
conference Tuesday afternoon to announce they have suspended the search
for three missing boaters, including Oakland Raiders linebacker
Victor
<< Report: Oakland, Garciaparra near deal
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are reportedly close to
signing infielder Nomar Garciaparra to a one-year contract.
A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday the
two parties are in the
Bobcats easily handle Bulls, win fourth straight >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 18 points and doled out
nine assists to lead the Bobcats to their season-high fourth consecutive win
with a 96-80 rout of the Bulls.
Raja Bell also tallied 18 points for Charlotte, wh
Gagne leads Flyers over Bruins in Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne scored twice and set up another
tally, as the Philadelphia Flyers used a three-goal third period to upend the
Boston Bruins, 4-2, at TD Banknorth Garden.
Mike Knuble registered a goal and two
Booker boosts Clemson over Virginia >>
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Booker scored 13 points and grabbed 15
rebounds as 18th-ranked Clemson dominated Virginia, 75-57, during senior night
at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Terrence Oglesby finished 10-of-10 from the foul line on h
No. 8 Michigan State claims Big Ten title with win over Indiana >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalin Lucas scored 15 points and Raymar
Morgan added 14 points and seven rebounds, as eighth-ranked Michigan State
claimed its first Big Ten championship since 2001 with a 64-59 victory over
Indiana
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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