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
09/02/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Javon Walker caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Joe Webb in the fourth quarter, helping Minnesota edge Denver, 31-24, in the preseason finale for both teams.
Brett Favre took the night off for the Vikings, leaving Tarvaris Jackson to start. He completed just 2-of-8 passes for two yards. Webb finished 5-of-9 for 100 yards for the Vikings, who begin their season with an NFC Championship Game rematch by playing the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints next Thursday at the Superdome.
Rookie Tim Tebow connected on 12-of-16 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Broncos, who open the regular season on the road at Jacksonville September 12. Tebow fumbled his first snap, resulting in a 35- yard return for a touchdown by Erin Henderson in the first quarter.
Broncos running back LenDale White suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Kyle Orton started for Denver and finished 5-of-8 for 56 yards, while Brady Quinn was 14-of-21 for 149 yards and a TD.
Rookie Eric Decker, who played collegiate ball at Minnesota, had a strong homecoming by making 10 catches for 114 yards for Denver.
Walker's TD catch extended Minnesota's lead to 31-21 nearly five minutes into the fourth, but Matt Prater booted a 49-yard field goal with less than five minutes remaining. Quinn drove the Broncos to the Minnesota 12, but he threw three straight incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs with 50 seconds left.
<< Titans down Saints in exhibition finale
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pearman spearheaded a huge rushing
attack with 36 yards and a touchdown and Kerry Collins completed 8-of-17
passes for 89 yards as Tennessee held off New Orleans, 27-24, in the preseason
finale
<< Bucs finish preseason with win over Texans
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Carpenter threw a pair of touchdowns as
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down the Houston Texans, 24-17, in the preseason
finale for both squads.
Carpenter was 15-for-22 for 203 yards for the Buccaneers,
<< Utley GS caps nine-run seventh as Phils outslug Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley's grand slam to cap a nine-run
seventh inning proved to be just enough to hold off the pesky Rockies, as
Philadelphia hung on for a wild 12-11 win versus Colorado in a makeup game at
Coors F
<< Chiefs edge Packers in preseason finale
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brodie Croyle completed 11-of-16 throws for
119 yards and Jackie Battle carried 10 times for 67 yards and a touchdown to
lead Kansas City to a 17-13 win over Green Bay to conclude the preseason for
both te
Federer, Djokovic move into third round at the Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and
third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia were among Thursday's second-round
winners at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised pas
Choo carries Cleveland over Seattle >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo tied a career-high by driving in
five runs, as he stroked a three-run double in the sixth inning and added a
two-run homer in the ninth, boosting the Indians to a 6-3 win over Seattle to
open a
Laird's homer wins it, as Tigers outlast Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Laird's 13th-inning home run was the
difference, as the Detroit Tigers pulled out a 10-9 victory over the Minnesota
Twins in the finale of a three-game series.
Laird's blast was one of five Tigers
Cardinals defeat Redskins in final preseason game >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Max Hall connected on 7-of-9 passes for
126 yards and ran for a touchdown and Jay Feely kicked a pair of field goals
to lead Arizona to a 20-10 victory over Washington in the final preseason
tuneup
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
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