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03/10/2010 -
MIAMI (AP) -Rafer Alston still has not made contact with the Miami Heat to explain his disappearance from the team, and coach Erik Spoelstra is denying the guard's claim that he was going to be permanently benched before leaving last week.
Alston told ESPN on Monday that he left the team for personal issues involving a family member. Alston also was quoted saying that Spoelstra told him before leaving that he ``wouldn't be playing any more.''
Spoelstra said he merely told Alston he would be out of the starting lineup. Spoelstra also says the team is still trying to reach Alston, who texted a member of the organization last week and has made no other contact with the franchise since last Thursday.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Tulsa Shock (WNBA)
Signed Marion Jones.
<< Real Madrid crashes out of Champions League
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid failed to advance to the
quarterfinals of the Champions League for the sixth successive season as they
were held to a 1-1 draw by Lyon at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, leaving
them on
<< Savannah State joins MEAC
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Savannah State University has been
granted a provisional membership into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference,
beginning July 1, 2010.
The announcement was made Wednesday by the conference.
"
<< Zenyatta to face eight in Santa Margarita
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta makes her 2010
debut Saturday in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational at Santa Anita
Park. The six-year-old will take on eight other older females in the 1 1/8-
mile ra
Warriors C Andris Biedrins undergoes surgery >>
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -The Golden State Warriors say center Andris Biedrins has undergone surgery to repair a small tear of an abdominal muscle.Biedrins had the surgery Wednesday in Philadelphia. The team says it will be four to six weeks until Biedr
Hurricanes agree to terms with Lawson >>
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms with former Notre Dame defenseman Kyle Lawson on a two-year, entry-level deal.Lawson, selected in the seventh round of the 2005 draft, recently completed his senior season for the Iris
T'Wolves C Hollins suspended >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves center Ryan Hollins
has been suspended by the NBA for two games without pay after an incident on
Monday.
The third-year pro punched Dallas' DeShawn Stevenson and struck Dirk Nowitzki
Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Shreveport, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Smith scored 16 points as the
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions took down the Mississippi Valley State Delta
Devils, 69-66 in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference
Tournam
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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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