12/03/2008 - Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired forward Joakim Lindstrom from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Logan Stephenson.
Lindstrom, a second-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets, has four goals and four assists in 37 career NHL games. He scored seven goals and added 14 assists in 21 games for Iowa of the AHL this season.
Last season, Lindstrom split time between the NHL and AHL, registering three goals and four assists in 25 games with the Blue Jackets.
The 24-year-old Lindstrom will join the Coyotes' American Hockey League affiliate in San Antonio.
Stephenson, the 35th overall pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, has recorded one goal and one assist, as well as 40 penalty minutes in 19 games this season while playing for San Antonio.
<< Coughlin addresses Burress situation
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin
addressed the situation with suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress on
Wednesday, but would not divulge the reasons behind the club's decision to
place t
<< Mariners come to terms with Branyan
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed infielder
Russell Branyan to a one-year deal. Per club policy, financial terms of the
deal were not released.
"Russell gives us a veteran left-handed bat with power a
<< Voronin hopeful of permanent Hertha stay
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Andriy Voronin is hoping to make
his loan stay at Hertha Berlin into a permanent transfer.
The Ukraine international has found the net three times since returning to the
Bundesliga from Liverpoo
<< Westbrook, Allen, Jones earn NFC weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian
Westbrook, Minnesota Vikings defense end Jared Allen and Carolina Panthers
return specialist Mark Jones have been selected as the NFC's top players for
Week 13
Giants ink Howry to one-year deal >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have signed
right-handed reliever Bob Howry to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the
deal were not released.
"We feel that Howry brings a tremendous amount of talente
Flyers center Briere out 4-5 weeks >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers center Daniel Briere
will miss the next four to five weeks with a groin strain.
Briere left Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning after
taking a hit in the se
Line of Scrimmage: Week 14 - Weighing in on StarCaps >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After his team defeated the Chicago Bears
to take over first place in the NFC North this past Sunday night, Minnesota
Vikings head coach Brad Childress told the media he celebrated by having "a
vodka as big a
Seattle places center Spencer on IR >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer was
placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Spencer started all 11 games played this season, and 35 consecutive, before
being sidelined with a back injury during the
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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