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12/26/2006 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leon Washington's 64-yard jaunt on a screen pass set up Mike Nugent's winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining, as the New York Jets moved closer to the playoffs with a 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphins.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for the Jets (9-6), as they've won seven of their last 10 games. New York can earn a wild card berth with a victory at home over the 2-13 Oakland Raiders Sunday.
Washington finished with four receptions for 108 yards, but none was bigger than the slashing catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter. Chad Pennington threw the ball over the middle to the rookie from Florida State, and Washington eluded a couple of tacklers before picking up a block and surging down the right sideline before being tackled by Renaldo Hill at the 16 with 1:54 left.
After three runs by Kevan Barlow, Nugent split the uprights from 30 yards away.
The Dolphins couldn't manufacture a miracle return on the ensuing kickoff, ending the game, which was played in a steady rain.
Pennington completed 14-of-29 passes for 237 yards with a TD to Jerricho Cotchery in the fourth quarter.
Cleo Lemon replaced an ineffective Joey Harrington at halftime for Miami and connected on 11-of-16 passes for 104 yards with a score to tight end Randy McMichael, also in the fourth. Ronnie Brown returned to the Dolphins lineup after missing three games with a broken left hand and rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries.
The Dolphins (6-9), who end their season at Indianapolis on Sunday, lost their second straight.
<< Big Unit going back to Diamondbacks?
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Johnson's days with the New York Yankees
could be numbered.
According to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees are in
discussions with the Diamondbacks to trade Johnson, a five-time
<< Wade thrives, Heat shut down Kobe
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade had a spectacular Christmas
afternoon, scoring 40 points, dishing out 11 assists and tying a career-high
with four blocked shots, as the Heat rolled to a 101-85 over the Los Angeles
Lakers.
<< NFL Inactives (Monday, December 25, 2006)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of the players
placed on the inactive squad for this week's NFL games.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT DALLAS COWBOYS, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
Eagles - RB Ryan Moats, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Pat McCoy
<< UCLA remains on top of poll; Clemson and Tennessee join Top 25
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fifth consecutive week, UCLA
remained atop the Associated Press college basketball poll.
The Bruins (11-0) crushed Michigan, 92-55, and also dismantled Sam Houston
State this past week
Rockets stop off in Indiana >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets hit the road this evening to take on
the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Houston will visit Indiana and New Jersey on its brief trip and is 8-8 as the
visitor this season. The Rockets have lost t
Grizzlies, Wizards meet at Verizon Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies try and stop a three-game losing
streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon
Center.
Memphis, the NBA's worst team, suffered a 100-97 loss to the Utah Jazz on
Satur
Pistons welcome Nets to The Palace >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons aim for
their fifth straight win when they host the New Jersey Nets tonight at The
Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit, which owns a two-game lead over Chicago in the division, ha
Bulls try to continue strong play at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls are on a roll and will visit the
Minnesota Timberwolves this evening at the Target Center.
Chicago is just two games behind Detroit for the lead in the Central Division
and has won 13 of its last 15 game
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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