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08/19/2010 - Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time runner-up Novak Djokovic and former champion Andy Murray recorded third-round victories Thursday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event.
The second-seeded world No. 3 Djokovic cooled off Argentine star David Nalbandian 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) in 1 hour 37 minutes, while a fourth-seeded Murray came from behind to best talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in just over 2 1/2 hours on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The oft-injured Nalbandian had won 13 of his previous 14 matches, including a quality title in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago.
Murray, who upset Roger Federer in last week's blockbuster finale at the Canadian Masters event in Toronto and was this year's Australian Open runner- up to the Swiss icon, was the Cincinnati champ two years ago. The British Murray's quarterfinal opponent will be surging American Mardy Fish.
Djokovic has played in the last two Cincy finals, losing to Federer here last year and Murray in '08.
The hot Fish handled former top-10 Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-2 on Day 5. The wild card Fish, who has now won 14 of his last 15 matches, including titles in Newport and Atlanta, was the Cincinnati runner-up back in 2003.
The 2010 Cincinnati titlist will claim $443,500.
<< Yankees use sixth-inning blitz to subdue Tigers
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robinson Cano's two-run home run capped a nine-
run sixth inning as the New York Yankees clobbered the Detroit Tigers, 11-5,
in the finale of a four-game set.
Cano finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI
<< Nats go deep to down Braves, avoid sweep
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Morse and Willie Harris each homered, as
the Washington Nationals took down the Atlanta Braves, 6-2, to avoid a three-
game sweep at Turner Field.
Ryan Zimmerman, Roger Bernadina, and Ian Desmond ea
<< Woods commits to playoffs opener
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods will defend his FedEx Cup title.
The world No. 1 announced on his website Thursday that he will play in The
Barclays next week. The event kicks off the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs for
the top
<< Rangers add striker Jelavic, winger Weiss
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rapid Vienna striker Nikica Jelavic will
join Rangers after the teams reached an agreement on a transfer of the 24-year
old Thursday, when Rangers also signed winger Vladimir Weiss.
Jelavic will finalize
Clijsters charges into Montreal QFs >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters was an easy
third-round victor Thursday at the $2 million Rogers Cup, a U.S. Open tune-
up.
The fifth-seeded former world No. 1 Clijsters pummeled Estonian Kaia Kanepi
6-2
Sox C Saltalamacchia on DL with infection >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed back-up catcher Jarrod
Saltalamacchia on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after doctors discovered
an infection in his right leg.
The Boston Globe reported that Saltalamacchia wen
Clijsters into QFs; Dementieva upended in Montreal >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters was an easy
third-round victor, while defending Rogers Cup champ Elena Dementieva was an
upset victim Thursday at this $2 million Canadian event, a U.S. Open tune-
up.
The
G-Men sign QB Randolph; Sorgi out with sore shoulder >>
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants signed quarterback Dominic
Randolph on Thursday, to address a growing issue under center.
The move came after it was revealed that backup QB Jim Sorgi has an arm
injury, and, accor
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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