Report: Blazers fire GM Pritchard
Basketball Betting Lines
06/24/2010 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly
fired general manager Kevin Pritchard.
The Oregonian newspaper reported team owner Paul Allen made the move less than
an hour before the NBA Draft was set to begin Thursday night.
The 43-year-old Pritchard was promoted to general manager in March of 2007. A
source told the Oregonian that Pritchard's final day on the job would be
Thursday when he conducts the draft for the Blazers.
This is the second big move made in Portland's front office. The team
dismissed Tom Penn as vice president of basketball operations in March.
The Trail Blazers finished 50-32 last season, but lost in the first round of
the Western Conference playoffs. The team hasn't made it past round one since
2000.
<< Report: Celtics forward Wallace to retire
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has
reportedly decided to end his NBA career after 15 years in the league.
Speculation was building that Wallace would retire after the Celtics lost to
the Los Ang
<< Kerr in 3-way tie for lead at LPGA Championship
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristie Kerr shot a four-under 68 to earn a
share of the lead Thursday after the first round of the LPGA Championship, the
year's second major.
Playing in the afternoon, Kerr carded five birdies and one bog
<< Wizards choose Wall with No. 1 pick
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards selected Kentucky point
guard John Wall with the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-4 Wall, the first Kentucky player selected No. 1 overall, completed
his first colleg
<< Byrd's RBI single in 13th helps Cubs cool off M's
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marlon Byrd singled home the winning run in the
13th inning, as the Cubs clipped Seattle, 3-2, to end the resurgent Mariners'
winning streak and avoid a three-game sweep.
Chad Tracy and Mike Fontenot also go
<< Report: Bulls agree to trade Hinrich to Wizards
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have reportedly agreed to
trade guard Kirk Hinrich and the 17th overall pick in tonight's NBA Draft to
the Washington Wizards.
The deal can only be viewed as a salary purge to open up room for
Rose, Harrington among Travelers leaders >>
Cromwell, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose birdied five holes in a row on the
back nine Thursday to post a six-under 64 and join Padraig Harrington and two
other players in the lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship.
Char
Wolves draft Booker at No. 23 >>
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken Clemson forward Trevor Booker with the 23rd overall pick in the draft.Booker is the first senior to be drafted in the 2010 class. The 6-foot-7, 236-pound Booker is a physical presence. He avera
Hawks pick Texas F Damion James at No. 24 >>
ATLANTA (AP) -The Atlanta Hawks have selected Texas forward Damion James with the 24th overall pick in the NBA draft.The 6-foot-7 James, a strong rebounder in college, will give the Hawks depth behind starting forwards Josh Smith and Marvin Williams
No. 21 pick Brackins headed to Hornets after trade >>
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Iowa State forward Craig Brackins has been taken with the 21st overall pick in the NBA draft and is headed to the New Orleans Hornets through a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.Brackins was the product of one of two selection
NHL owners agree on penalties for blindside hits >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -NHL owners unanimously agree that blindside hits to the head will now result in a major penalty and ejection for offenders.The vote took place Thursday at the league's board of governors meeting, held one day before the NHL draft.T
What Is the Point Spread?
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
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.
|
