Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/04/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Justin Hartwig, a 16-game starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the past two seasons, was among the prominent players cut as part of the team's final "cut-down day" maneuvers on Saturday.
Hartwig entered training camp as the Steelers' starter at center, but was overtaken by first-round rookie Maurkice Pouncey (Florida) during August and was ultimately judged to be surplus to needs.
Also released were linebacker Patrick Bailey, cornerback Joe Burnett, safety Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith, wide receiver Tyler Grisham, defensive end Sunny Harris, wide receiver Stefan Logan, defensive tackle Steve McLendon, fullback Frank Summers, guard Kraig Urbik and defensive tackle Doug Worthington.
Notables among that group include Bailey and Burnett, both of whom were special teams contributors last season, and Logan, who served as the team's primary kickoff returner.
On Friday, the team released tight end Eugene Bright, guard Dorian Brooks, tackle Kyle Jolly, wide receiver Brandon London, tight end Sean McHugh, defensive tackle Scott Paxson, long snapper Matt Stewart, safety Justin Thornton, running back Justin Vincent and linebacker Renauld Williams.
The Steelers will open the regular season next Sunday, when they welcome the Atlanta Falcons to Heinz Field.
<< Broncos place Stokley on IR, cut 10, trade for TE Gronkowski
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wide receiver Brandon Stokley was placed on
season-ending injured reserve Saturday, with the Broncos also cutting 10
players and dealing for Detroit Lions tight end Dan Gronkowski to reduce the
roster to 53 play
<< Kahne takes pole for Atlanta Nationwide race
Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kasey Kahne will start on the pole for
Saturday's Great Clips Nationwide Series race after posting the quickest lap
in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kahne turned a lap of 181.479 m.p.h. ar
<< Ravens release 15, including QB Smith, K Graham; Reed to PUP
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens released quarterback
Troy Smith and kicker Shayne Graham on Saturday, also placing safety Ed Reed on
the Physically Unable to Perform List to highlight a slew of "cut-down day"
maneuvers.
<< Thames' tie-breaking homer pushes Yanks past Jays
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames clubbed a two-run homer to snap a
seventh-inning tie, lifting the New York Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the
Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Robinson
Jets release 21, including LB Satele >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie linebacker Brashton Satele, one of
the roster hopefuls chronicled on HBO's "Hard Knocks" television series this
summer, was among the players released Saturday as the New York Jets trimmed
their roster
Pickens: Gundy's done a good job at Oklahoma St. >>
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -Prominent Oklahoma State booster T. Boone Pickens says he's pleased with the performance of football coach Mike Gundy and is predicting an eight-win season for the Cowboys.Pickens spoke Saturday before Oklahoma State hosted W
Buccaneers cut 20, including WR Clayton >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former first-round draft choice Michael Clayton
was among the players released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, as the
team reduced its roster to the 53-player NFL maximum.
Clayton, who posted 221 catches
Snedeker joins Day in Deutsche Bank lead >>
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandt Snedeker fired a seven-under 64 Saturday
to join Jason Day in the lead after 36 holes of the Deutsche Bank
Championship, the second of four FedExCup series playoff events.
Day, who shared the first-round
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting