10/18/2008 - Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Venus Williams battled past Ana Ivanovic in a two-plus hour battle of former world No. 1s to join Italy's Flavia Pennetta in the final of the $600,000 Zurich Open.
Williams outlasted the Serbian star Ivanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours, 10 minutes. The American sensation improved to 5-1 lifetime against Ivanovic, who had won their only meeting previously this season in the quarterfinals at the Aussie Open. Four years ago, Williams toppled Ivanovic on this stage in Zurich.
Pennetta continued her ride through this event with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Anabel Medina Garrigues. The unseeded Italian player will look for another seeded victim in Williams on Sunday after already downing reigning world No. 1 and U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic at this event on Thursday.
This week's winner will claim $95,500.
<< Points leader Hornaday grabs pole for Martinsville
Martinsville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Hornaday Jr. won the pole for
Saturday's Kroger 200 at the Martinsville Speedway. The No.33 Chevrolet driver
and defending Craftsman Truck Series champion rounded the half-mile track in
19.817
<< Around the CFL: Cates, Dominguez to return for Riders
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders will have two of
their top offensive weapons back when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on
Sunday.
Running back Wes Cates and receiver Matt Dominguez will both be in the lin
<< ARRAY(0xa0f4ed0)
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders will have two of
their top offensive weapons back when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on
Sunday.
Running back Wes Cates and receiver Matt Dominguez will both be in the lin
<< Winless Flyers begin home-and-home in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try once again for their first
victory of the season when they visit the San Jose Sharks for the opener of a
home-and-home series tonight at HP Pavilion.
The Flyers, who made it to the Eastern
Nadal, Federer beaten in Madrid semis; Nadal takes year-end No. 1 >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray handed Rafael Nadal the year-end
No. 1 ranking with a victory over Roger Federer, then Nadal bowed out in
stunning fashion to unseeded Gilles Simon in wild semifinal action at the
Madrid
Karlsson chasing another win at suspended Portugal Masters >>
Vilamoura, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson, a winner in his last
two starts, had a piece of the lead Saturday when the third round of the
Portugal Masters was suspended because of rain.
Playing in the same group, Karlsso
Liverpool rallies again to stay unbeaten >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Kuyt scored two goals, including
the game-winning strike in the 85th minute, as Liverpool maintained its
unbeaten mark in the Premiership with a 3-2 victory over Wigan at Anfield on
Saturda
Grothe and Bulls use strong second half to crush Orange >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Grothe threw three touchdown passes and ran
for a score, as 19th-ranked South Florida used a dominant second half to pull
away for a 45-13 rout of Syracuse at Raymond James Stadium.
South Florida built a
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please 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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