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03/11/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford scored a team-high 29 points to lead Atlanta to a tight 105-99 victory over the lowly Wizards.
Joe Johnson and Al Horford each netted 18 points for the Hawks, who salvaged a three-game road trip following losses at Miami and New York. Mike Bibby chipped in with 16 points for the victors.
Andray Blatche ended with 30 points and 10 rebounds but had seven of Washington's 21 turnovers. JaVale McGee and Nick Young posted 20 and 17 points, respectively, in the club's fifth straight loss.
A Zaza Pachulia jumper gave Atlanta a healthy 85-73 lead less than two minutes into the final quarter.
The Wizards cut their deficit to 92-89 when Blatche capped a 10-2 run on a putback with under five minutes to play.
After trading field goals, a Bibby three-pointer and two Horford three throws moved the Hawks' cushion to 99-91.
McGee's dunk had the Wizards within 101-97 with under a minute remaining, but Blatche missed a mid-range fadeaway the next time down, and Atlanta made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Washington stayed in striking distance in the first half, trailing 27-22 at the end of one quarter and 54-51 at halftime after Marvin Williams beat the buzzer with a three-pointer.
Atlanta was never down in the third quarter and took a 79-73 lead into the fourth thanks to six free throws from Crawford in the final minute.
Game Notes
The Hawks have won the past eight matchups between the teams and are unbeaten in the previous five contests at the Verizon Center...Atlanta was 8-of-17 from three-point range while Washington made just 1-of-13 from behind the arc...The Wizards won the battle on the glass, 42-29...McGee also grabbed nine rebounds, and his point total was a career-high...Mike Miller ended with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Washington.
<< Capitals clinch Southeast Division
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Columbus on
Thursday, the Washington Capitals clinched the Southeast Division crown.
The Capitals had Thursday off, but were able to win the Southeast Division for
the third str
<< UC Irvine hoops coach will not return
Irvine, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of California-Irvine announced
on Thursday that head men's basketball coach Pat Douglass will not return next
season.
Douglass, who had been at the helm of the Anteaters for the last 13 seaso
<< Bulls' Rose leaves with sprained wrist
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls All-Star point guard Derrick
Rose left Thursday's game against the Magic with a left wrist injury.
Rose was driving the lane in the first quarter and ran into Orlando center
Dwight Howard
<< Heat's Wright charged with DUI
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat forward Dorell Wright has been charged
with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
The Miami Herald reported Wright was arrested in South Beach and was stopped
early Thurs
Jets agree to terms with safety Pool >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets and defensive back
Brodney Pool have reached an agreement in principle on a contract on Thursday.
Pool was not tendered by the Browns.
A second-round draft pick in 2005 who pla
Habs clip Oilers in shootout >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Kostitsyn scored in the fifth round of
the shootout, lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-4 victory over the
Edmonton Oilers.
Kostitsyn's was the only score of the shootout, and came when h
Rask, Bergeron power Bruins to win over Flyers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuukka Rask stopped 31-of-32 shots to lead
Boston over Philadelphia, 5-1, at Wachovia Center.
Patrice Bergeron added a goal and two assists for the Bruins, who snapped a
two-game slide. Marco Sturm,
Kessel's OT goal lifts Leafs over Tampa Bay >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Kessel scored 3:33 into overtime to give
Toronto a 4-3 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Viktor Stalberg had a pair of goals, while Tyler Bozak also found the net for
the Maple Leafs, who gained t
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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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