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07/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For Brewers shortstop Alcides Escobar, the All-Star break can't come soon enough.
The 23-year-old will try to shake off his third crucial error in two games this evening when Milwaukee hosts the San Francisco Giants for the second game of four straight at Miller Park.
Escobar made two errors that led to five unearned runs in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals, then booted a potential double-play ball with one out that helped key a four-run seventh frame for the Giants in last night's 6-1 setback.
"The key play was the ground ball where we thought we were going to get a double play and then we went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "I'm more frustrated then the fans are. The Giants put the ball in play with the bases loaded and we didn't."
Milwaukee managed just Rickie Weeks' bases-loaded walk in the second inning in losing for the second straight game and for the third time in four contests. Starter Dave Bush yielded just one run over six innings, but Kameron Loe was charged with four runs -- two earned -- while recording just one out in relief.
All-Star Corey Hart went 2-for-5 with a double in the loss, extending his hitting streak to 20 games. He is batting .360 (31-for-86) on the run with a pair of homers and 19 RBI.
Aubrey Huff followed Escobar's error, which allowed one run to score and kept the bases loaded, with a two-run bloop single and ended with three hits, while Buster Posey added a solo homer in just San Francisco's second win in 10 games. Jonathan Sanchez earned the win for yielding a run over six innings with six strikeouts.
"I feel good with the way I'm throwing right now," Sanchez said. "I was able to go deep into the game and give our bullpen a rest for the most part."
San Francisco will look to win back-to-back games for the first time since June 20-22 and send Madison Bumgarner to the hill tonight.
The 20-year-old is still searching for his first major league win after failing to post a decision in four games -- one start -- last season before losing his first two starts in 2010.
The left-hander, who has never faced Milwaukee, has notched consecutive seven- inning outings versus the Red Sox and Rockies, allowing seven earned runs. In Thursday's loss to Colorado, Bumgarner allowed four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits with five strikeouts.
The Brewers go with 33-year-old Randy Wolf, who picked up a victory over the Cardinals on Thursday. He allowed just a run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings of work, improving to 6-7 with a 4.70 earned run average this season.
The lefty is 8-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 16 career starts versus the Giants.
San Francisco, which split six games at Miller Park last year, has won four of its last five versus Milwaukee after dropping nine of 11 in the series.
<< Cubs' Silva tries to put woes behind him in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cubs' offensive struggles have caught up to starter
Carlos Silva, but the right-hander has reason to be encouraged given his
team's performance on Monday.
Chicago will try to win back-to-back games and hel
<< Phils go for another win over NL East-leading Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top of the National League East got a little tighter
after the Phillies took yesterday's opener of a three-game series with the
first-place Braves.
Philadelphia will try to inch a little closer to the top spot
<< Pirates begin series against hosting Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the bottom teams in the National League get together
tonight when the Houston Astros host the Pittsburgh Pirates in game one of a
three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros, who finished fifth in the NL Centr
<< Wilson aims to pitch Rangers into win column vs. Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Wilson tries to get the Texas Rangers back on the
winning track this evening when they resume their three-game series with the
Cleveland Indians at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Texas fell for the fourth time in its
Colaiacovo returning to St. Louis >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have reportedly re-signed
unrestricted free agent defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Colaiacovo has agreed to a two-year
deal worth $4.25 million.
T
Rivens returns to Coastal Carolina >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One-time North Carolina Central assistant coach
Antoine Rivens has returned to the university to become the tight ends and
offensive tackles coach for the Eagles.
Rivens spent the last seven seasons at Coastal C
Rivens returns to N.C. Central >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One-time North Carolina Central assistant coach
Antoine Rivens has returned to the university to become the tight ends and
offensive tackles coach for the Eagles.
Rivens spent the last seven seasons at Coastal C
Magic reach deal with former Knicks PG Chris Duhon >>
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -The agent for Chris Duhon says the point guard has reached an agreement with the Orlando Magic for a $15 million, four-year deal.Agent Kevin Bradbury told The Associated Press on Tuesday the chance to play for a championship cont
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.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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