12/02/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League announced a list of six players on Tuesday that were each suspended four games for a violation of the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.
New Orleans' Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith, Minnesota's Pat Williams and Kevin Williams and Houston's Bryan Pittman will each sit out after violating a provision of the policy relating to the use of diuretics and water pills, which may serve as masking agents for steroids.
All six players will miss the remainder of the regular season, as there are only four weeks left in the 2008 campaign. If the Saints, Vikings or Texans qualify for the playoffs, the players are eligible to return to their respective active rosters on December 29.
Jeff Pash, the NFL's executive vice president of labor and league counsel, heard and decided all but one of the appeals to the suspension. He noted in his rulings that the diuretic taken by the players, Bumetanide, had long been a prohibited substance and that the league's policy contains numerous warnings about dietary supplements.
<< NFC West: Arizona hurt by being one-dimensional
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals go only as far as the arm of Kurt
Warner can take them. They know that, and now apparently other teams do as
well.
The Cardinals feature the second-best passing attack in the NFL at 303.4 yards
per g
<< Astros sign Brocail
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros signed pitcher Doug Brocail
to a one-year, $2.5-million contract, plus incentives, on Tuesday.
The deal also includes a club option for 2010 worth $2.85 million, plus
incentives, wit
<< Newcastle won't discipline angry Martins
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United will not discipline
Obafemi Martins following his angry reaction to being substituted at the
weekend.
The 24-year-old Nigeria international was reported to be facing disci
<< NFC North: Momentum shifting Vikings, Childress' way
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It seems like a while ago when the Minnesota Vikings began
the season with a 1-3 record. Expected to contend for an NFC North title, the
slow start had head coach Brad Childress on the hot seat.
It's funny what a few wins
Portsmouth's Kranjcar wants to make impact in Cup >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth midfielder Niko Kranjcar has
declared himself fit and ready to play a full 90 minutes against Wolfsburg in
the UEFA Cup.
The Croatia midfielder is hoping to start Thursday's group sta
Giovinco staying with Juve >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco is not
on the verge of joining West Ham United, according to the midfielder's agent.
Hammers coach Gianfranco Zola had been keen to sign the 21-year-old on loan,
hav
AFC North: Tough Stretch-Run Awaits Ravens >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Baltimore Ravens' team charter lifted off on
Sunday evening to carry the team back home following a 34-3 rout of the
hapless Cincinnati Bengals, head coach John Harbaugh and his charges might as
well have started wav
NFC East: Giants block out yet another Burress distraction >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Plaxico Burress has done his best to internally sabotage
the New York Giants' goal of a second straight Super Bowl victory, but the
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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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