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09/03/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff hopes of the Houston Dynamo continue to slip away as the club gets set to host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at Robertson Stadium.
Houston snapped a 10-game winless skid with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Fire, but the team suffered a 3-0 defeat against the Colorado Rapids last time out, thwarting any momentum they might have taken from the Chicago win.
"It is just the way the season's going, and we have to try and get some momentum back," Houston's Geoff Cameron told mlssoccer.com. "It was a disappointing result, especially with us thinking we could go there and get three points."
The Dynamo must now start to string a few wins together to get back into playoff contention, but they will be missing midfielder Lovel Palmer due to international duty with Jamaica, while forward Brian Ching suffered a calf injury in last weekend's game and could also miss the match.
San Jose will be without a few key players of its own as the team's leader in assists, Bobby Convey, serves a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation, while forward Ryan Johnson is away on international duty.
However, there is good news for coach Frank Yallop as he gets back defender Jason Hernandez from suspension, while Arturo Alvarez will be available despite getting called up to the El Salvador national team for a friendly on Tuesday.
Earthquakes Designated Player Geovanni could also find himself getting increased playing time as he continues to build fitness.
San Jose had a modest two-game winning streak snapped by Red Bull New York last time out, but they are only three points back of fourth-place Seattle in the Western Conference with two less games played, so a playoff berth is well within reach.
<< Columbus signs Peru forward Mendoza
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew signed Peru forward Andres
Mendoza on Friday.
Mendoza, 32, made his debut for Peru in 1999 and still plays for his country.
He has seven goals in 44 games. At the club level, Mendoza has p
<< Diamondbacks bring up veteran P Hampton
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks purchased the contract
of 15-season veteran Mike Hampton on Friday from Triple-A Reno.
Hampton was signed by the club on August 21 after making 21 starts for Houston
last season, going
<< NCAA reverses decision; Masoli to play for Ole Miss in 2010
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will
be able to play for the Ole Miss Rebels this season after the NCAA overturned
a previous decision that stated the signal-caller must sit out a year.
Masoli enro
<< Granderson, Yanks win seventh straight
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Granderson doubled twice and drove in
three runs, as New York beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3, in the opener of a
three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Brett Gardner hit an RBI triple and scored
White Sox activate Thornton from DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have activated reliever
Matt Thornton from the 15-day disabled list.
Thornton had been on the DL since August 18 with left elbow inflammation. He
is 3-4 with a 2.66 earned run average
Steelers start cuts, drop 10 players >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Steelers released 10 players on Friday,
getting an early start on personnel moves in advance of the NFL's 6 p.m. (et)
Saturday deadline to reduce rosters to 53 players.
The players released were tight
Boston's Pedroia has surgery >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia
has undergone successful surgery on the navicular bone of his left foot.
Pedroia had a screw inserted on Friday to promote healing of the fracture,
which occu
NHL approves new Kovalchuk contract >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will finally join the New Jersey
Devils after his re-submitted contract was reportedly approved by the National
Hockey League.
Additionally, according to TSN of Canada, the league and the NH
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.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting