08/17/2008 - Grenoble, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nassim Akrour's first-half goal was enough to hand Grenoble its second win in as many games to start the Ligue 1 season on Sunday as the club held off Rennes, 1-0.
The newly-promoted side has been the biggest surprise in Ligue 1 so far, becoming the only team to win its first two games of the new campaign to climb to the top of the table. However, things are expected to get more difficult next week as the team travels to the Stade de Gerland to meet seven-time defending champions Lyon.
Grenoble had a great chance to move in front after just 10 minutes when Daniel Moreira was brought down by Rennes defender Petter Hansson inside the box. Grenoble's Sofiane Feghouli stepped to the spot but his effort was turned away by Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez, who also smothered a rebound effort from Akrour.
However, Akrour would not be denied 10 minutes later when he fired a fantastic effort from 25 yards past Douchez to put his team ahead.
The lead held up into the second half, but Rennes began to seriously threaten the Grenoble net.
Asamoah was in on goal for Rennes in the 66th minute but failed to hit the target, while Olivier Thomert's header in the 74th minute was stopped by Grenoble keeper Gregory Wimbee.
The final chance of the game came with 10 minutes to play when Hansson sent a looping header towards goal that floated just over the crossbar.
Lyon had to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw at Lorient, while Marseille easily handled Auxerre 4-0.
<< Volquez leads Reds past Cards
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez hurled seven innings of
shutout ball and the Cincinnati Reds salvaged the final contest of a three-
game series with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Volquez (15-5) put tog
<< A-Rod highlights New York's romp over Royals
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez finished 3-for-3, homered, scored
three times and drove in five as the New York Yankees used an early barrage of
offense to subdue Kansas City, 15-6, in the series finale of a three-game set
from Ya
<< Tribe edge Halos
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Franklin Gutierrez was 3-for-3 and added a
two-run single, as the Cleveland Indians managed a 4-3 victory over the LA
Angels of Anaheim in the rubber match of a three-game set.
The series loss for the
<< De Jonge earns first Nationwide Tour win
Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendon De Jonge overcame a shaky start on
Sunday to comfortably earn his first victory on the Nationwide Tour at the
Xerox Classic.
De Jonge posted a one-under 69 and established a new tournament
Santana's shutout at Pittsburgh keeps Mets rolling >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana pitched his second complete
game and first shutout of the season as the Mets continued a stretch of road
dominance with their sixth straight win, topping Pittsburgh, 4-0 in the third
install
All I need is a little Reed; Cubs fry Fish >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reed Johnson's three-run double highlighted an
eight-run seventh inning, as the Chicago Cubs pounded the Florida Marlins,
9-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Dolphin Stadium.
Johnson finishe
Kang wins playoff for first Duramed Futures title >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Haeji Kang defeated Sophia Sheridan in a
playoff Sunday to earn her first victory on the Duramed Futures Tour at the
Greater Richmond Duramed Futures Classic.
Kang, who owned at least a piece of t
Reed, Cubs fry Fish >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reed Johnson's three-run double highlighted an
eight-run seventh inning, as the Chicago Cubs pounded the Florida Marlins,
9-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Dolphin Stadium.
Johnson finishe
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 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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting