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09/09/2010 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution travel to take on Chivas USA on Friday night in a Major League Soccer fixture between two clubs desperate for points.
Both teams sit at or near the bottom of their respective conferences, and with the regular season winding down, the time is now to make a move or be on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.
The Revs (7-12-3) are third-from-the bottom in the Eastern table, but are coming off a confidence-boosting 3-1 win at home vs. Seattle this past weekend. Not only did New England earn the full points on their home turf, but they did so against a club that had been unbeaten in seven league fixtures.
"I think it speaks for itself after the week we've had," New England coach Steve Nicol said after the win. "We basically got robbed the three points last weekend [in a 2-1 loss vs. Philadelphia]. We were real unfortunate on Wednesday in [a 2-1 loss to Morelia in the SuperLiga] final. But to come back from those two games, the third game in eight days, and go about it the way we did I think says all we need to know about the players and their attitude and the commitment and how they stick together. It was fantastic."
The win snapped a three-game losing streak in league play, and gave the revs hope that they could make a run over their final eight games.
Chivas USA (6-12-4), on the other hand, is coming off a potentially demoralizing 3-0 loss at Colorado.
"[The loss to Colorado] is going to be a tough game to regroup from, but we will and look forward to [Friday's game vs. New England]," Chivas USA coach Martin Vasquez told mlssoccer.com.
The Goats, who are in last in the Western table, know they must run the table over their last eight league fixtures to have any chance at playing in the second season.
"We have to win the next eight games," Chivas USA's Mariano Trujillo told mlssoccer.com. "We still have a chance to make it to the playoffs if we win. We have to do our jobs."
The Goats could be without midfielder Blair Gavin, defender Jonathan Bornstein and forward Giancarlo Maldonado because of injuries, while new England will be without forwards Zak Boggs and Taylor Twellman for the same reason. Midfielder Jason Griffiths and forward Edgaras Jankauskas are listed as doubtful, while defender Cory Gibbs is probable with an ankle injury.
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<< Arsenal's Walcott to miss 4-6 weeks
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal winger Theo Walcott could be out
for six weeks after injuring his ankle while playing internationally for
England, it was announced on Thursday.
"The tackle looked quite bad," Arsenal man
<< Portuguese Football Federation dismisses coach Queiroz
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal fired its national soccer coach
Carlos Queiroz, effective immediately, it was announced on Thursday.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) made the decision because of the
team's poor p
<< Phoenix extends agreement with Las Vegas
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes announced on Thursday that
the team has extended their affiliation agreement with Las Vegas of the ECHL.
The Wranglers play in the Pacific Division of the 19-team ECHL. The team has
the
Rangers edge Blue Jays to earn split >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mitch Moreland drove in three runs as Texas
doubled up Toronto, 4-2, in the finale of a four-game series from Rogers
Centre.
Vladimir Guerrero added three hits and scored twice while Nelson Cruz
Rasmus, Cardinals dominate Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Rasmus went 4-for-4 with a pair of home
runs and four RBI as St. Louis dominated Atlanta, 11-4, in the opener of a
four-game set.
Skip Schumaker went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and two runs sc
21st-ranked Tigers take down Bulldogs in SEC tussle >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameron Newton threw for a pair of
touchdowns to help the 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers hold off the Mississippi
State Bulldogs, 17-14, in SEC action.
Newton completed 11-of-19 passes for 136 yard
Youzhny, Nadal reach U.S. Open semis >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny and eight-time
major titlist Rafael Nadal won their quarterfinal matches on Thursday at the
2010 U.S. Open.
Nadal, the world No. 1, handled eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco 7-
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.
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