08/19/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly agreed to bring back forward/center Theo Ratliff with a one-year contract.
According to a report Tuesday in the Philadelphia Daily News, the 35-year-old Ratliff will accept a league-minimum $1.4 million.
A 13-year veteran, Ratliff played for the Sixers after he was acquired from Detroit during the 1997-98 season through 2001.
In addition to Detroit and Philadelphia, he has also played for Atlanta, Portland, Boston and Minnesota. In 705 career games, he has averaged 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
<< Andreev reaches third round in New Haven
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev was an
easy second-round winner Tuesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a
final U.S. Open tune-up.
Andreev erased Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-4 on the hardcourt
<< Orioles place closer Sherrill on shelf
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles closer George Sherrill
was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with left shoulder
inflammation.
Sherrill, Baltimore's only representative at this year's All Star Gam
<< Benesova lands in Forest Hills QFs
Forest Hills, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova was
among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $74,800 Forest Hills Tennis
Classic, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
Benesova edged out Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6
<< Bartoli, Mauresmo post wins in New Haven
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli
and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France were a pair of winners
Tuesday at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final hardcourt U.S. Open
tune-up.
The 200
Fillmore earns medalist honors at U.S. Amateur >>
Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Fillmore fired a five-under 65 on
Tuesday to earn medalist honors after the stroke-play portion of the U.S.
Amateur.
The championship is being contested at Pinehurst Resorts No. 2 and N
Tennessee gains TE Warren, loses Cottam to surgery >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee received NCAA
approval Tuesday for sophomore tight end Brandon Warren to suit up for the
Vols this season.
Head coach Phillip Fulmer also announced that junior tight en
Jets sign WR Brackins >>
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets signed wide receiver
Larry Brackins on Tuesday following the injury to start-up wideout David
Clowney during Saturday's 13-10 preseason setback to Washington.
Brackins is fres
Andreev, Fish, Karlovic all reach third round in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, second-
seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic and eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish were second-
round winners Tuesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S.
Open tu
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.
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