10/22/2008 - Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last week's Madrid Masters runner-up Gilles Simon, of France, was a first-round victor, while fifth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo was a second-round loser Wednesday at the $860,000 Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.
The fourth-seeded Simon slipped past Argentine Juan Monaco 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, while another French crowd favorite, Julien Benneteau, blitzed Robredo 6-2, 6-2 on the indoor carpet at Palais des Sports Lyon Gerland. Simon is quietly up to No. 10 in the world after losing to Brit Andy Murray in this past Sunday's title bout in Madrid.
Simon will face Italian Andreas Seppi here on Thursday.
Another second-round winner was French wild card Josselin Ouanna, who bested 1999 Lyon champion Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Two more seeds won first-round matches on Day 3, as No. 7 Swede Robin Soderling subdued French qualifier Thierry Ascione 6-4, 6-1 and No. 8 Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu dismissed struggling Argentine Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4. Soderling titled here back in 2004, while Mathieu was the 2002 winner.
One other opening-round result saw Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus erase Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-2, 6-4.
In other second-round action here on Thursday, top-seeded Andy Roddick will meet fellow American Robby Ginepri, second-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet will tangle with Belgian Steve Darcis and third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be opposed by fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, the 1997 Lyon champ. The former top-ranked Roddick titled here back in 2005, while Gasquet ran the table in 2006. Tsonga was this year's Aussie Open runner-up.
<< Simao saves a point for Atletico
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simao's goal in the 83rd minute helped
Atletico Madrid salvage a 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Wednesday at the
Vicente Calderon in Champions League Group D action.
Both sides entered the matc
<< Rams RB Jackson misses practice with thigh injury
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
missed practice on Wednesday with a thigh injury.
Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett on Monday termed the injury a strain, and
said he did not expect Jackso
<< Patriots' Morris misses practice
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots running back Sammy Morris
did not practice with the team on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Morris injured his knee during New England's 41-7 victory over
the Denver Broncos last Sunday and
<< Blake, Andreev reach Basel quarters
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded American James Blake
and sixth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev posted victories Wednesday at the $1.2
million Swiss Indoors Basel.
Blake fought his way past dangerous German Nicolas Ki
Chiefs QB Huard out for season >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard
was placed on the injured reserve list Wednesday after hurting his right thumb
in Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Titans.
The 35-year-old Huard left in the fourth q
Rangers add Moore, Anderson to coaching staff >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers announced Wednesday that
they have hired Jackie Moore as bench coach and Dave Anderson as third base
coach.
Anderson, the Rangers' field coordinator in 2008, will also head up infie
Blues' King to have season-ending surgery >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Blues forward D.J. King will
undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, team president John Davidson announced
Wednesday.
King injured his shoulder in the Blues' 6-1 win over Dallas on October
Bucs RB Williams back at practice >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay running back Carnell "Cadillac"
Williams took part in a Buccaneers practice Wednesday for the first time since
September 26, 2007, after a long recovery from a torn patellar tendon.
Williams sp
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.
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting