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02/02/2012 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United signed forward Hamdi Salihi as a Designated Player on Thursday.
Salihi, a 28-year-old Albanian international, has 163 goals in 289 matches in all competitions in his career. He last played for Rapid Vienna in Austria and scored 53 goals in 90 matches for the club.
"We are thrilled to have completed a deal to bring Hamdi to MLS and D.C. United," said United general manager Dave Kasper. "He has one of the most impressive strike rates you'll find and has shown he's capable of scoring goals at every level in which he's played.
"We believe strongly he will become another important piece for our team and we look forward to seeing him on the field in March."
Salihi played with current D.C. midfielder Branko Boskovic at Rapid Vienna and has also played for clubs in Albania and Greece during his club career. On the international level, he has played 37 times for Albania and scored nine goals.
Per club and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Salihi will be added to the squad after receipt of his International Transfer Certificate, P-1 Visa, and medical clearance.
D.C. United opens the 2012 MLS season March 10 at RFK Stadium against Sporting Kansas City.
<< Alabama A&M to wrap up 2012 regular season at Auburn
Huntsville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama A&M football will stay in state for
seven of its 11 games in 2012, including a trip to Auburn in what is the
Bulldogs' first game against a Southeastern Conference program.
A&M, coming off an
<< Vancouver's Hodgson named top rookie for January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks center Cory Hodgson has been
selected as the NHL's top rookie for the month of January.
Hodgson scored six goals and assisted on four others, leading all rookies last
month with 10 points,
<< Fordham signs 15 for Moorhead's first class
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fordham University football coach Joe Moorhead
announced the 15 members of his first recruiting class on Thursday, one day
after the national signing period began.
It is the Rams' third recruiting class since
<< Tottenham signs defender Nelsen
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham signed defender Ryan Nelsen after
he was released from Blackburn, the Premier League club announced Thursday.
Nelsen, 34, captained New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup. Blackburn terminated
his con
Nationals pick up Edwin Jackson >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have agreed to
terms with veteran starter Edwin Jackson on a one-year contract.
The deal is contingent upon Jackson passing a physical.
Jackson, 28, entered the majors in 2
Flames' Stempniak sidelined with high ankle sprain >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Flames forward Lee Stempniak will miss
approximately six weeks of action due to a high ankle sprain.
Stempniak left Tuesday's game against the Red Wings due to the injury.
In 51 games this season, St
Swansea's Bodde suffers new injury >>
Swansea, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swansea City midfielder Ferrie Bodde picked
up a new knee injury Wednesday and could face a longer spell on the sidelines.
Bodde has not played for Swansea since February of 2010, and has made just 59
appe
NFL gives 49ers $200 million loan for new stadium >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL owners approved a $200 million loan on
Thursday to help the San Francisco 49ers build a new stadium in Santa Clara.
In December, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority unanimously approved an $850
millio
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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