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02/06/2012 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have signed left-handed pitcher Joe Beimel and first baseman/outfielder Conor Jackson to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.
Beimel went 1-1 with a 5.33 earned run average over 35 relief appearances with Pittsburgh last season. He spent over a month-and-a-half on the disabled list with left elbow inflammation from May 28-July 14.
Originally selected by Pittsburgh in the 18th round of the 1998 draft, Beimel has posted a 24-32 record with four saves and a 4.21 ERA over 567 career games with the Pirates (2001-03, 2011), Twins (2004), Rays (2005), Dodgers (2006-08), Nationals (2009), and Rockies (2009-10).
Jackson combined to hit .244 with five home runs, 17 doubles, and 43 runs batted in over 114 games last year with Oakland and Boston. He saw action at first base, right field, left field, and third base last season.
The 29-year-old Jackson has a career .271 average with 52 homers and 295 RBI over 658 games with the Diamondbacks (2005-10), Athletics (2010-11), and Red Sox (2011).
<< Pierce, Parker named NBA Players of the Week
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and San
Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker were named the Eastern and Western Conference
Players of the Week, respectively, for the week ending February 5.
Pierce averag
<< Baylor again a unanimous top choice in women's hoops
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor is once again a unanimous choice as the
No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll.
The undefeated Lady Bears received all 40 first-place votes and a total of
1,000 points f
<< Cavs waive Thompson
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers waived guard Mychel
Thompson on Monday.
The rookie played in five games this season and averaged 3.6 points and 1.4
assists in 19 minutes per game.
<< Chiefs name Daboll offensive coordinator
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs hired Brian Daboll
as their new offensive coordinator on Monday.
Daboll joins Kansas City after serving as the Miami offensive coordinator in
2011. His team had a 1,000-yard r
Lawrie, Stanley soar in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie claimed a four-shot win in
Qatar, while Kyle Stanley erased an eight-shot deficit to come from behind and
win the Phoenix Open on Sunday. With those victories, both players made big
moves i
Missouri State to visit Kansas State, Louisville >>
Springfield, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri State football will open the 2012
season by visiting two FBS opponents and play five home games as part of an
11-game schedule announced Monday.
Seventh-year head coach Terry Allen and the Bears wi
Liverpool, Spurs finish goalless at Anfield >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool and Tottenham played to a 0-0
draw at Anfield on Monday, doing little to improve the ambitions of either
side.
The result leaves Tottenham seven points back of leaders Manchester City
Alcohol led to Presbyterian player's death >>
Clinton, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An autopsy has determined the death of a
Presbyterian College football player on Sunday was brought on by alcohol
intoxication.
The Laurens County Coroner's office said Monday that the death of 21-year-old
Kyl
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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