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09/01/2010 - Normal, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA ruled that Alabama A&M's top returning tackler Afu Okosun must sit out the season's first two games because he played in one game in 2006 before he was redshirted that season.
Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones said Okosun, an inside linebacker, will miss games at Tennessee State on Saturday and against Central State on Sept. 11.
Okosun, a fifth-year senior, was a preseason first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection. He had 79 tackles last season.
"This was clearly a misunderstanding of the rules," Jones said. "He played in a game and that could have counted as a year of competition. We sought a waiver and the NCAA granted it. Because he played in one game, he has to sit out two."
Okosun played against Grambling, the second game of the season, in 2006.
"I didn't do anything wrong, but those are the rules," Okosun said. "I'd rather play nine (games) than not play at all."
Sophomore Larry Lumpkin will start in Okosun's spot at Tennessee State.
<< Cardinals aim to stop skid, avoid sweep against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals are playing themselves out of
postseason contention, but at least they'll be able to conclude a horrendous
road trip today in the finale of a three-game series against the Houston
Astros at Minute Maid
<< Five-a-Side: Liberty coach Danny Rocco
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Rocco has yet to picket outside NCAA
headquarters in Indianapolis, but if the third Sunday in November goes like
the last three years, don't doubt that he and the rest of the Liberty football
team will
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 1st
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Group C: China vs. Russia, 9 a.m. (Ankara)
Group A: Serbia vs. Australia, 9:30 a.m. (Kayseri)
Group B: Croatia vs. Tunisia, 9:30 a.m. (Istanbul)
Group C: Ivory Coast vs. Greece, 11:30 a.m. (Ankara)
Group D: Leban
<< Tickets go on sale for NBA games in London
LONDON (AP) -Tickets have gone on sale for the first regular-season NBA games in Europe.The New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors will play a pair of games at the O2 Arena in London on March 4-5. The NBA is planning a week of activities across Britain
New FCS head coaches ready for debuts >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventeen of the 19 new head coaches at
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two facing off against each other on the first night of action Thursday.
Dale Carlson wi
Twins' Liriano puts unbeaten streak on line vs. Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing at Target Field has usually translated into
success for the Minnesota Twins. And when Francisco Liriano has taken the
mound, the current American League Central leaders have been nearly invincible
as of l
Pirates shoot for another series win over Cubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be headed towards a fourth
straight last-place finish in the National League Central, but you wouldn't
know it given how they handled the Chicago Cubs this year.
The Pirates have already wo
Big-hitting Blue Jays close out set at Tampa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays displayed their trademark power in
knocking off the playoff-hopeful Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, but the heavy-
hitting club figures to face a more stern challenge in tonight's finale of
this t
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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