Pacers sign Stephenson
Basketball Betting Lines
07/22/2010 -
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers announced the signing
of second-round draft choice Lance Stephenson to a multi-year contract.
Per team policy, exact terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Stephenson was the 40th selection of this year's draft after spending one
season with Cincinnati. He was the Pacers' summer league team's second-leading
scorer with 14.8 points per game in four contests.
In his lone season with the Bearcats, Stephenson averaged 12.3 points in 34
contests.
<< Flyers bring back Powe for another year
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward
Darroll Powe to a one-year contract Thursday.
Powe, 25, scored nine goals and assisted on six more in 63 regular season
games for the Eastern Conference ch
<< Paulino lifts Marlins to series win over Rockies
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronny Paulino knocked in the game-winning run in
the bottom of the ninth to give the Marlins a 3-2 win to finish out a four-
game series with the Rockies.
Emilio Bonifacio tripled to deep center over the
<< Verlander, Tigers shut down Blue Jays
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Verlander threw eight effective innings
and Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 with two RBI, as the Detroit Tigers beat the
Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2, in the opener of a four-game series.
Verlander (12-5) allo
<< Mankins mess a situation that bears watching
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL's training camp season is once
again approaching. Time for grueling two-a-days, the emergence of fantasy
sleepers, and Brett Favre's annual yo-yo act with the inevitable familiar
ending.
And of co
<< Pirates C Doumit lands on DL with concussion
Pittsburgh, PA (Sport Network) - The Pirates placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the
15-day disabled list Thursday, one day after he exited a game early feeling
light-headed and nauseated following a first inning collision at home plate.
After
Langer among the leaders at Senior British >>
Carnoustie, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer posted a four-under 67
on Thursday to share the first-round lead with Jay Don Blake and Carl Mason at
the Senior Open Championship.
Bruce Vaughan, the 2008 winner, Mark Wiebe and Da
Saints sign recently released McCray >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have signed defensive
end Bobby McCray to a one-year contract, just one month after releasing him.
McCray, 28, signed with the Saints as an unrestricted free agent in 2008. The
Florid
Hernandez pitches Nats over Reds for series split >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Livan Hernandez threw his second complete
game of the season and Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer to power Washington's
offense, as the Nationals topped the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1, in the finale of a
four-ga
Hudson, Braves blank Padres to take series >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hudson tossed seven strong innings and Alex
Gonzalez continued to swing a hot bat with a four-hit, two-RBI afternoon, as
the Braves blanked San Diego, 8-0, to conclude a three-game set at Turner
Field.
MLB to test for HGH in minors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball announced Thursday that
it will immediately implement a plan to test for human growth hormone in the
minor leagues.
MLB becomes the first United States professional sports league
What Is the Point Spread?
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
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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