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07/27/2010 - Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Maradona's tenure as coach of Argentina ended Tuesday, when the Argentine Football Association announced his contract would not be renewed.
Maradona, 49, became Argentina's manager in November of 2008. He was initially offered a four-year contract extension to lead Argentina through the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but only if removed his entire coaching staff.
The Argentina legend, who led the country to its last World Cup title in 1986, turned down the contract offer because he wanted to keep his entire staff. The AFA unanimously decided Tuesday not to renew Maradona's contract.
Argentina almost failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, but the country was strong in the tournament in South Africa until losing 4-0 to Germany in the quarterfinals - Maradona's last game.
Argentina plays Ireland in a friendly on Aug. 11, but the AFA did not announce who would coach the team for that match.
<< D.C. United waives forward Khumalo
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United waived forward Thabiso Khumalo
on Tuesday.
Khumalo, nicknamed "Boyzzz," was originally acquired by United in 2008 and
made 27 appearances in all events. Khumalo scored one goal and provide
<< Report: Bengals sign Terrell Owens
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A report on the Cincinnati Bengals'
website cites a league source as saying the team has agreed to terms on a one-
year contract with wide receiver Terrell Owens.
The source indicated Owens is expected to
<< MLS names inactive All-Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced the final seven
All-Stars on Tuesday, although the additions are inactive for Wednesday's game
against Manchester United at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Goalies Jimmy Niels
<< Marlins release Robertson
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins released pitcher Nate
Robertson a week after designating him for assignment.
Robertson allowed eight runs (seven earned) in five innings and took the
loss in last Tuesday's game
Phillies' Rollins to miss several days >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy
Rollins may miss several days while recovering from a foot injury.
Rollins fouled a pitch from Colorado's Jason Hammel off his left foot early
in Monday's 5-4
Philadelphia's Seger named WPS Player of Week >>
West Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Independence midfielder
Caroline Seger was named the Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week
for Week 15 on Tuesday.
Seger tied the WPS record for assists in a match with thre
Pats place Welker, two others on active PUP list >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots on Tuesday placed
wide receiver Wes Welker and two others on the active/physically unable to
perform list.
Welker, who sustained season-ending ACL and MCL injuries to his
NFL strengthens stance on concussions >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has taken
another step forward in its ongoing effort to limit the effects of
concussions.
The New York Times first reported on and re-printed a draft of a pos
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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