Wmiamidolphins NCAA Football Betting News

<< Clijsters, Venus roll into quarterfinals in New York
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams each recorded straight-set victories in fourth-round play Sunday at the 2010 U.S. Open. Clijsters needed just 59 minutes to post a 6-2 ,6-1

<< Defense comes up big for Mountaineers
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -West Virginia is accustomed to scoring in bunches. What stood out after the season opener was an effort unseen from its defense in quite some time.The Mountaineers earned their first home shutout win in 13 years on Saturday,

<< Veteran coach Jack Crowe leads JSU to huge victory
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -Jack Crowe has been coaching football for 40 years, but even he was at a loss to describe how Jacksonville State pulled off the unthinkable with a 49-48 double-overtime victory over Mississippi on Saturday.Not only was it undoubt

<< With Hampton out, Robinson shines for No. 9 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -The anticipation for Iowa sophomore running back Jewel Hampton's return from knee surgery and a one-game suspension has reached a fevered pitch in Iowa City.Meanwhile, Adam Robinson keeps moving the chains.Robinson, an unherald

Cousins' hit lifts Marlins over Braves in extras >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Cousins' pinch-hit single -- his first big league hit -- in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Emilio Bonifacio, as the Florida Marlins got by the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-g

Kisner gets 1st win at Mylan Classic >>
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kisner shot a four-under 67 to capture his first Nationwide Tour win Sunday at the Mylan Classic. A former All-American at the University of Georgia, Kisner finished four rounds on the Southpointe cour

Dolphins add four, cut three >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins were awarded four players on waiver claims Sunday and also cut three players. Awarded to the team were defensive ends Clifton Geathers and Robert Rose and offensive linemen Jeremy Parnell a

Turkey and Slovenia win to reach quarterfinals >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Sinan Guler added 18 as Turkey subdued France, 95-77, to advance the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Turkoglu connected on 6-of-10

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

• Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
  OR
  
• Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

• 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.

  For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

  Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

• Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
  OR
  
• Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

  Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

  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.