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03/13/2010 - Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Saturday morning.
The Astros said the procedure involved removing loose cartilage debris from the knee. There was no indication of ligament or meniscus damage.
Berkman will begin an exercise rehab program immediately and his expected return is still estimated as two to four weeks.
The 34-year-old veteran is no stranger to knee surgery. He had a minor procedure in 1999 on his left knee and another operation in 2004 to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.
Entering his 12th big league season, all with Houston, Berkman said he felt discomfort in the knee after running the bases early in camp. He had his knee drained twice since, but it has remained problematic.
Berkman batted a full-season career-low .274 in 2009 with 25 homers and 80 runs batted in.
<< Maple Leafs host Oilers in matchup of last place clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle between the bottom two teams in the NHL is on tap
tonight in Toronto, pitting the Maple Leafs against the Edmonton Oilers at Air
Canada Centre.
Despite having won two straight and three of their last four, the Map
<< Lumberjacks look to cut down Bearkats in Southland title game
Katy, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With an NCAA Tournament bid on the line, the top-
seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats will battle the second-seeded Stephen F.
Austin Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game at
the Merrell
<< 49ers aim for record fifth Big West title against top-seeded Gauchos
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long Beach State tries to raise its total of
Big West Conference Tournament titles to a record five, as the 49ers clash
with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the championship round of the 35th-annual
event at Anahe
<< Utah State and New Mexico State battle for WAC supremacy
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Utah State tries to make it back-to-
back Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles tonight as the squad
clashes with the New Mexico State Aggies in the 27th-annual event at the
Lawlor Events Center in
Twins sign OF Span to five-year contract >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins announced the signing of
outfielder Denard Span to a five-year, $16.5 million contract on Saturday.
The deal also includes a $9 million club option for the 2015 season.
Span hit .311 i
Bobcats sign G Hughes; Wallace's MRI negative >>
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -The Charlotte Bobcats have signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.Meanwhile, an MRI on forward Gerald Wallace's left ankle on Saturday reve
Rangers 2B Kinsler has sprained ankle >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler will
be sidelined at least a week with a high right ankle sprain.
Kinsler suffered the injury in pre-game warmups on Friday and did not play in
the proceeding exhibit
Houston steals NCAA bid with upset of UTEP in C-USA final >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelvin Lewis stepped up with 28 points and
drained six three-pointers, as the Houston Cougars claimed their first
Conference USA Tournament title and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for
the fir
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.
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