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08/12/2007 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chone Figgins went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 6-2 victory.
Angels starter Jered Weaver (8-5) pitched 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing just two runs on five hits to go along with four strikeouts and no walks.
Orlando Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a run batted in for the American League West-leading Angels, who have won six of seven overall.
Boof Bonser started for Minnesota and gave up five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. The struggling Bonser (5-9) is now winless in his last 11 starts, going 0-7 in that span.
Jason Bartlett went 1-for-3 with a triple and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who have lost four straight and six of their last seven.
The home team grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Casey Kotchman singled home Garret Anderson, who doubled to start the frame.
The Angels scored twice in the fifth to up their lead to three runs. Reggie Willits and Figgins hit consecutive singles before Cabrera's double plated a run. Vladimir Guerrero was then intentionally walked and Anderson grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Figgins.
A sacrifice fly by Bartlett in the sixth got Minnesota on the board while Figgins belted a two-run homer in the home half of the inning to make it 5-1.
Alexi Casilla singled with one out in the eighth and Justin Speier came into to relieve Weaver. Speier managed to strike out Jason Tyner, but gave up a triple to Bartlett that scored Casilla to make it a three-run game.
Jeff Mathis led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to make it 6-2 in favor of the Angels.
Game Notes
The Angels have won nine of their last 10 at home...LA finished with 11 hits while Minnesota had six...Attendance was 43,911.
<< Rockies rally past Cubs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Tulowitzki homered and broke a tie with a
two-run double in the sixth inning as the Rockies salvaged a four-game series
split with the Cubs, winning 6-3.
Matt Herges (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings of perfe
<< Millar strikes against former team, O's top Red Sox in extras
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Millar crushed a game-winning, three-
run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Baltimore Orioles over
the Boston Red Sox, 6-3, in the finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Corey
<< Gorzelanny blanks Giants as Pirates complete sweep
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny allowed five hits to post
his first career shutout, Josh Phelps tied a career-high with four RBI, and
the Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco
Giants
<< Astros salvage game with Brewers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Biggio, Ty Wigginton and Lance Berkman
all homered as Houston downed Milwaukee, 6-4, in the finale of a three-game
set at Minute Maid Park.
Eric Bruntlett added a big two-run single for the Astros,
Japan to play Canada, Brazil in exhibitions >>
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan will play fellow World Cup qualifiers
Canada and Brazil in exhibitions prior to next month's tournament.
Japan, which is in Group A with Argentina, England and Germany, plays Canada
on Aug. 30 and B
Mets salvage series finale versus Marlins >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Moises Alou belted two home runs, including a
solo shot that put New York in front in the sixth, as the Mets held on for a
10-4 victory over Florida in the finale of a three-game set at Shea Stadium.
Jose
Woods wins 13th major at PGA Championship >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods collected his first major of the
year and 13th overall Sunday when he won the PGA Championship at Southern
Hills.
Woods shot a final-round, one-under 69 to finish the tournament at eight-
under-par 2
Beckham sits against New England >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Beckham won't play in Los Angeles'
Major League Soccer game at New England on Sunday because of a lingering ankle
injury.
He is not on the Galaxy's active roster for the game.
Beckham made his
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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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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