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03/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to win their first season series with the Dallas Stars in five campaigns as the two clubs meet for the fourth and final time in the regular season this afternoon at American Airlines Center.
Colorado took its first two meetings with the Stars this year at home before dropping a 3-2 decision in Dallas on Jan. 29. The Avalanche haven't won this season series since taking three of four in 2003-04, though the clubs have split the four-game set in each of the previous two campaigns.
The Avs, who have lost two straight and seven of their last eight in Dallas, were last in action on Thursday and posted a 3-0 victory over Florida. Craig Anderson made 27 saves versus his former club and is among the league leaders with seven shutouts. He also recorded the 14th blanking of his career while making his 22nd start in a row.
One of Anderson's seven shutouts this year came at the expense of Dallas and he is 1-1-0 with a 1.52 goals-against average in two starts versus the club this year.
Paul Stastny scored twice, Mark Hendricks had the other goal and Chris Stewart posted two assists versus the Panthers for the Avalanche, who are five points behind the Canucks for first place in the Northwest standings and rebounded from Tuesday's 6-4 loss to Vancouver in which they squandered a pair of three- goal leads.
"We've bounced back well all year," said Stastny, who has two goals and eight assists over a six-game point streak. "A couple of us had a big let down and wanted to respond, so that's what we did as a team. We played a patient game and a smart game."
Stastny isn't the only Colorado player that has played well as of late. Stewart has eight goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games, while Peter Mueller has posted a pair of tallies and five helpers in five games since being acquired from Phoenix.
While the Avalanche are still trying for a division title, the Stars have lost five of six since the Winter Olympic break to fall seven points back of the eighth spot in the West.
The Stars did earn a point last time out, falling to the Kings, 2-1, in a shootout on Friday. Marty Turco made 27 saves and stopped the first five skaters he saw in the extra session before allowing Jarret Stoll to score for Los Angeles in the sixth round.
"You know we have to gain some ground here if we want to get back in the playoffs. Unfortunately you can't do that unless you win," said Turco, who is 11-9-0 with three ties and a 2.58 GAA lifetime versus the Avalanche franchise and lost his only start against them this year. He will start for Dallas today.
Brenden Morrow notched the lone goal for the Stars, who dropped the opener of a six-game homestand for their third loss in a row at American Airlines Center.
<< Capitals visit Blackhawks in clash of NHL powerhouses
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Capitals and Blackhawks could very well meet this year
in the Stanley Cup Finals, but neither probably feels like a championship-
caliber club right now.
Both Washington and Chicago will try to bounce back from disappo
<< Taiwan's Tseng wins Women's Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taiwan's Yani Tseng fired a flawless
seven-under 66 on Sunday to capture the Women's Australian Open.
The two-time LPGA Tour winner finished four rounds on the Commonwealth course
at nine-under 283
<< Record-setting Ruangkit wins European Seniors event
Nakhonpathom, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit fired a
seven-under 65 and set multiple records Sunday in winning the Chang Thailand
Senior Masters.
Ruangkit finished three rounds on the Royal Gems course at 21-und
<< Red Sox prospect Westmoreland to have brain surgery
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland
is scheduled to have brain surgery Tuesday after being diagnosed with a
cavernous malformation in his brain, the team announced Saturday.
Westmoreland, 19
Maple Leafs try to push win streak to four games versus Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to stretch their longest
winning streak of the season to four games this evening when they visit the
New York Islanders in a matchup of the two bottom teams in the Eastern
Conference.
Toro
Lightning play host to Penguins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lightning are coming off a big win over the Eastern
Conference's top team. They wouldn't mind posting another one versus arguably
the East's second-best team.
Tampa Bay will try to record just its third win in its last
Blues wrap road trip versus Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues conclude a six-game road trip this
evening that has kept them in the playoff race. They do so against one of the
better home teams in the league, the Minnesota Wild, at Xcel Energy Center.
The Blues hav
A-10 title up for grabs as Owls take on Spiders >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their ninth Atlantic 10
Conference Tournament title, the third in as many seasons, the 17th-ranked and
top-seeded Temple Owls take the floor at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this
afternoon agai
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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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