Blues name Mellanby assistant coach
Hockey Betting Lines
06/01/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues hired former NHLer Scott Mellanby as an assistant coach on Tuesday.
Mellanby, 43, had been working as a pro scout with Vancouver and will remain at that position until July 15.
"In my current role with Vancouver I have scouted many Blues games and feel this team, with this talent, is headed in the right direction," said Mellanby. "St. Louis is my home and my family and I are thrilled to be back in the Blues organization."
Mellanby played 21 seasons in the NHL, including parts of four seasons with the Blues.
Over 1,431 games, he totaled 364 goals and 476 assists. He also skated with Philadelphia, Edmonton, Florida and Atlanta.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Marlin Jackson suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg during practice on Tuesday. Jackson, who signed a two-year contract with the club as a free a
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newcomers St Pauli.
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Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart has completed the permanent
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<< Wolves snap up Van Damme
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton have made its first
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Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko seems
certain to be staying in the Bundesliga despite reported interest from several
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St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds reliever Mike Lincoln was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with a strained right latissimus dorsi. Lincoln, who is 1-0 with a 7.32 earned-run average in 19 games this seaso
Cards bring back Miles >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals purchased the
contract of infielder Aaron Miles from Double-A Springfield on Tuesday,
bringing back a member of their 2006 World Series club.
Miles had yet to catch on
Rangers place P Holland on DL >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed pitcher Derek Holland
on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with left rotator cuff inflammation. The
move is retroactive to May 31.
In his last start on Sunday versus the Twins, he
Former Astros P Robertson passes away >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Houston Astros pitcher Jeriome Robertson
passed away on Saturday after a motorcycle accident in Exeter, California. He
was 33.
Robertson finished seventh in the 2003 National League Rookie of the Y
Eleby will not return to Bonnies >>
Olean, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Malcolm Eleby, who was slated to be a senior
with Saint Bonaventure next season, will not return to the team, the school
announced on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia native averaged 5.8 points per game and d
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.