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06/19/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's National League All-Star starter Brad Penny takes another step toward another berth on the mound in the Midsummer Classic tonight, when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit Rogers Centre to open a three-game interleague series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Penny, who was 10-2 at the time of the All-Star Game last year, earned his eighth win of 2007 on Wednesday, when he allowed seven hits and a run in seven innings while topping the New York Mets, 9-1.
He's unbeaten in five starts since a May 18 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, having given up 31 hits and just six runs in 34 innings following his only defeat of the season.
Penny got a no decision against Toronto on June 8, allowing five hits and a run in 7 2/3 innings. He is 1-0 with a 4.24 earned run average in three career starts against the Blue Jays.
Toronto's Dustin McGowan faced the Dodgers in that June 8 matchup and also got a no decision after allowing four hits and two runs in seven innings.
The 25-year-old Georgia native will go opposite Penny again tonight and is unbeaten in three home starts this season, with a 3.98 earned run average over 20 1/3 innings.
McGowan downed San Francisco on Wednesday, winning a 7-4 verdict after scattering seven hits and two runs in six innings.
On Sunday in Toronto, Ryan Zimmerman homered to help the Washington Nationals avoid a three-game series sweep by edging the Blue Jays, 4-2.
Toronto's Frank Thomas made some history in defeat, hitting his 244th home run as a designated hitter to surpass Edgar Martinez on the all-time list. He now has 496 career home runs after going deep in the third inning.
Josh Towers (2-5) absorbed the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits for Toronto, which had a three-game winning streak halted.
In Los Angeles, Howie Kendrick went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored as the Angels pounded the Dodgers, 10-4, in Sunday's finale of the Freeway Series.
Nomar Garciaparra went 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Dodgers. Starter Randy Wolf (8-5) got the loss after being charged with four runs on seven hits in five innings of action.
Los Angeles has lost two straight following a four-game win streak and enters tonight's play 1 1/2 games behind first-place San Diego in the NL West standings.
The Dodgers and Blue Jays met in early June, with Toronto winning two of three in LA. The Blue Jays also won two of three at home versus the Dodgers in 2004.
<< Mets aim to stay in win column against Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-handed surprise Jorge Sosa can get back on the
winning track tonight when the New York Mets host the Minnesota Twins in the
middle contest of a three-game interleague series at Shea Stadium.
Sosa, a 30-year-old Domin
<< Tennis Star's Landmark Anti-Doping Trial Starts
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Boston law firm has gone to court today to
clear the name of Guillermo Coria, a top-ranked professional athlete who was
suspended from the national tennis circuit in 2001 after testing positive for
steroids. Cori
<< Indiana coach Hoeppner dies
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana University head football coach
Terry Hoeppner died Tuesday morning following a lengthy illness.
Hoeppner, who was 59 years old, twice underwent brain surgery in the last 18
months.
"Coach
<< Tiger becomes a father
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods became a father Monday when his wife, Elin,
gave birth to a daughter.
Sam Alexis Woods is the couple's first child.
"Elin and I are delighted to announce the birth of our daughter, Sam Alexis
Woods,"
Orioles sail into San Diego with new skipper >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dave Trembley era in Baltimore kicks off tonight, when
the slumping Orioles open a three-game interleague series with the San Diego
Padres at Petco Park.
Baltimore became the first club in the 2007 season to fire it
Angels, Astros continue series at Angel Stadium >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim target their fourth
straight win this evening when they play the second of a three-game
interleague set with the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium.
In the opener of this set on Monday, Chone
Reeling Reds face tough test in A's Gaudin >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland pitcher Chad Gaudin tries to keep his unbeaten
streak alive when the Athletics continue a three-game interleague series
versus the Cincinnati Reds this evening at McAfee Coliseum.
Gaudin, who is 6-1 with
A-Rod leads Yankees into Coors Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez will take his swings in the rarefied air of
Coors Field when baseball's current home run leader brings the New York
Yankees into Denver for a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies.
Both of th
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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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.
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