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03/15/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have brought back a familiar face, signing linebacker Larry Foote to a three-year contract through the 2012 season.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Foote spent his first seven seasons with the Steelers before becoming a salary cap casualty last spring. He then signed a one-year contract with Detroit in May and led the Lions with 99 tackles, including 70 solo, last season.
A foot injury ended his 2009 season after 14 games, stopping a streak of 94 consecutive starts dating back to 2004. He also finished with two sacks and one forced fumble last year.
The Steelers selected Foote in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He started at inside linebacker in each of Pittsburgh's last two Super Bowl victories.
In 124 games, including 98 starts, the Michigan product has 612 tackles with 15 1/2 sacks, three interceptions, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
<< Lotina receives Deportivo extension
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coach Miguel Angel Lotina has penned a one-
year contract extension to keep him in charge at Deportivo until the end of
next season.
The 62-year-old took the helm at the Riazor in 2007 and has help
<< Nesta set to miss remainder of season
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan's veteran defender Alessandro Nesta
is set to miss the rest of the season after being forced to undergo surgery on
his injured right knee.
The 33-year-old was injured in last weekend's goalless
<< Tottenham expecting Keane to return
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have been told that they have no
chance of keeping loan striker Robbie Keane on a permanent basis.
The 29-year-old has scored eight goals in eight games since joining the Bhoys
from Tottenham, b
<< UConn unanimous in final poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut finished as a unanimous selection
as the top women's college basketball team in the final Associated Press poll.
The Huskies (33-0), winners of an NCAA Division I women's record 72 straight
game
Arena: Beckham remains an important player for the Galaxy >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham
suffered a devastating Achilles tendon injury while playing in AC Milan's 1-0
win over Chievo on Sunday.
Beckham, who is on loan with the Italian Serie A squad
Tseng No. 6 after winning in Australia >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yani Tseng won the Women's Australian Open
on Sunday, but held steady in the sixth position in this week's women's world
rankings.
In fact, the top nine remained unchanged from last week as Lorena Ochoa s
49ers sign Carr; trade Hill to Lions >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers have signed
quarterback David Carr and have agreed to trade Shaun Hill to the Detroit
Lions.
Hill spent the past four seasons with San Francisco and will head to Detroi
Fire sign pair of draft picks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire signed defenders Kwame Watson-
Siriboe and Steven Kinney, the Major League Soccer club announced on Monday.
"We are pleased to add Kwame and Steven to the Fire family to help us bring a
MLS Cu
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 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.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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