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
07/22/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. Presti, 33, was named general manager in 2007, when the team was still located in Seattle, after serving as assistant general manager for the San Antonio Spurs.
"I am extremely humbled to have the opportunity to continue our work here with the Thunder," Presti said. "Oklahoma City is home for me. We have a committed group of players, excellent coaches led by Scott Brooks, and a support staff in both basketball and business, that is integral to the vision of our organization and I am grateful for their partnership."
Through draft choices, such as Kevin Durant in 2007 and Russell Westbrook in 2008, as well as key acquisitions, Presti has constructed a young and promising roster.
The maneuvering paid dividends this past season, when the Thunder went 50-32 under Brooks -- a 27-win improvement from 2008-09. Oklahoma City made the franchise's first playoff appearance in five years and lost its first-round series to the eventual NBA-champion Lakers.
<< Blue Jackets re-sign Clitsome
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed
defenseman Grant Clitsome to a one-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Clitsome appeared in 11 games for the Blue Jackets last season
<< Pistons' Monroe has foot surgery
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pistons rookie forward/center Greg
Monroe underwent successful surgery on his right foot Thursday.
The out-patient procedure was performed by Dr. Arthur Manoli at St. Joseph
Mercy Hospital in P
<< Sum greater than parts at Stephen F. Austin
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Head coach J.C. Harper attributes Stephen
F. Austin's turnaround over the past few seasons to a belief in the system he
established.
"We had a plan, stayed on task with the plan, and haven't gotten off of
<< Bills put TE Klopfenstein on IR
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills tight end Joe Klopfenstein
was placed on the injured reserve list Thursday.
Klopfenstein's exact injury is unknown. An injury settlement with the four-
year veteran remains a possibility
Public gets chance to see Rachel Alexandra on Friday >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thoroughbred racing fans should be able to
get an up-close look Friday afternoon at 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel
Alexandra at Monmouth Park. The four-year-old filly will be in the track's
paddock
Canada's squad armed and ready >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As Canada prepares to host the 2010 IBAF
World Junior Baseball Championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., beginning Friday,
here's a closer look at its final 20-player roster.
It all starts behind the plate.
Can
Brewers activate Gallardo for Thursday start >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Brewers have activated right-hander
Yovani Gallardo from the 15-day disabled list to make Thursday's start versus
Pittsburgh.
Gallardo suffered a strained left rib cage muscle against the Cardi
Roenick, Hatcher brothers head 2010 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Roenick headlines a list of
five members that make up the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Class of
2010.
The class, which also includes Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Art Berglund an
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