11/24/2008 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United will be without Edwin van der Sar for the Champions League meeting with Villarreal after the veteran goalkeeper was left at home when the squad flew to Spain on Monday lunchtime.
Van der Sar, 38, played the entire 90 minutes of United's goalless draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening but is one of six first-team squad members not making the trip to Spain.
The former Netherlands international is believed to have been rested, with either Ben Foster or Tomasz Kuszczak set to step in on Tuesday evening.
Elsewhere, the Red Devils will also be without skipper Gary Neville (groin), Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes (both knee), Danny Welbeck (groin) and Dimitar Berbatov (hamstring) for the clash with their main Group E rivals.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to feature against Villarreal despite limping off at Villa Park with am ankle problem.
The Portugal winger was thought to be doubtful for the meeting with the Yellow Submarine, but took a full part in training on Monday morning at the club's Carrington headquarters.
Scotland international midfielder Darren Fletcher is also set to play after shaking off a knee problem.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Robinson Award candidates announced
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twenty candidates, including five former
winners, were named Monday to The Sportsbook Betting Lines's Eddie Robinson Award
ballot.
That ballot, along with ballots for the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan
awards, wi
<< Genyk out at Eastern Michigan
Ypsilanti, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Michigan has fired head football
coach Jeff Genyk, although he will remain with the team through its season
finale on Friday against Central Michigan.
"Earlier this morning, after consulti
<< Anderson, Boudreau, Cunningham, Pieri earn AHL HOF bids
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Anderson, Bruce Boudreau, Les
Cunningham and Louis Pieri have been selected for induction into the American
Hockey League Hall of Fame as the Class of 2009, it was announced on Monday.
"The
<< Steelers bring back Berger to punt
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers changed punters for
the second time this month on Monday, re-signing Mitch Berger and releasing
Paul Ernster.
Ernster was signed to replace Berger on November 5, but he averaged
Torino denies Donadoni link >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Torino president Urbano Cairo has dismissed
reports suggesting he has already lined up Roberto Donadoni as the replacement
for under-pressure coach Gianni De Biasi.
Struggling Torino secured a creditable p
Plenty of shakeup in women's poll, but UConn still No. 1 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained the top team in the
latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll, but the Huskies are
not a unanimous selection after a tumultuous week of play.
The Huskies (3-0) earne
Juve loses Tiago for one month with injury >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus will be without Tiago Mendes for
around one month after the midfielder sprained his knee during Saturday's 1-0
defeat to Internazionale.
The Portugal international was stretchered off after j
Rangers recall Rissmiller from Hartford >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers recalled forward Patrick
Rissmiller from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf
Pack, it was announced on Monday.
Rissmiller, 30, recorded seven assists in six gam
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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