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02/01/2012 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Francisco Cordero to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million, the team announced Wednesday.
Cordero, 36, spent the last four season with the Reds. He posted a 2.45 earned run average in 68 appearances last year, while converting 37 of his 43 save opportunities and holding opponents to a .198 batting average.
The right-hander is a 13-year veteran, having pitched for Detroit, Texas, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. He holds a career ERA of 3.17 in 753 games out of the bullpen, has converted 327-of-397 save chances, and owns a 44-45 record.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays designated outfielder Darin Mastroianni for assignment.
<< Irving, Rubio named NBA's top rookies for January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio were named the top rookies in the
Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for games played from the
season'
<< Simon, Gasquet roll in Open Sud openers
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French favorites Gilles Simon and
Richard Gasquet were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the Open Sud de
France tennis tournament.
The second-seeded world No. 12 Simon subdued Italian Fla
<< Thibodeau, Brooks named NBA's top coaches for December and January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls' Tom Thibodeau and the
Oklahoma City Thunder's Scott Brooks have been named the top coaches for
the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for December and January.
Thibode
<< Mariners sign Guillen
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners signed infielder Carlos
Guillen to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training
Wednesday.
The 14-year veteran spent the first six seasons of his career wit
Flames ink C Kolanos >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Krys Kolanos
to a two year, two-way contract and recalled him from Abbotsford of the
American Hockey League on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Calgary native has appeared
Rapids hand three-year extension to technical director Bravo >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on
Wednesday that the club has signed technical director Paul Bravo to a three-
year contract extension.
Bravo has presided over Colorado's soccer operations since
Galaxy adds Nakazawa from Philadelphia >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy acquired midfielder Kyle
Nakazawa and a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for an
international roster spot on Wednesday.
Nakazawa was selected in the third roun
Nationals sign RHP Durbin >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on
a minor-league contract with veteran relief pitcher Chad Durbin on Wednesday.
MLB.com, which cited a baseball source, reported the deal and said it includes
an in
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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