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03/22/2009 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gerrard scored three times to lead Liverpool to a resounding 5-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday, reducing Manchester United's lead over the Reds to just one point.
United still has a game in hand but they have lost their last two games, while Liverpool is flying with four straight wins by a combined 15-1 score.
Aston Villa's Champions League hopes take another huge hit with the loss and the Villains are now three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal after a five- game winless skid.
The game got off to a great start for the hosts as Gerrard's free kick was deflected off the crossbar by the head of Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt smashed home the rebound after eight minutes.
John Carew almost had a response for Villa in the 25th minute when he turned a strong header on goal that forced Pepe Reina to make a great reaction save, but Liverpool went up two goals 10 minutes later.
Reina punted the ball long and the Villa defense failed to deal with it, allowing the ball to bounce once while Alberto Riera ran under it and ripped a volley off the underside of the crossbar and in.
The lead then grew to 3-0 before halftime as Riera got into the box and was brought down by Villa's Nigel Reo-Coker, allowing Gerrard to step to the penalty spot and send goalkeeper Brad Friedel the wrong way.
Things got worse shortly after the break when Gerrard found the bottom right corner from a free kick at the edge of the area, and Friedel's nightmare afternoon was complete when he brought down Fernando Torres inside the box, earning himself a straight red card.
Gerrard then completed his hat trick with another successful penalty kick, capping another comprehensive win for Liverpool.
Manchester City moved into 10th with a 1-0 win over 10-man Sunderland as George McCartney was sent off after 15 minutes, while Robinho missed a penalty kick five minutes later. However, City did eventually go ahead with Micah Richards scoring his first goal of the season in the 56th minute to win the game.
Sunday's other contest saw Wigan take over seventh place as Ben Watson scored in the 84th minute to give the Latics a 1-0 win over Hull City.
<< Naylor saves draw for Celtic
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic failed to take hold of the Scottish
Premier League as the Hoops needed an 80th-minute goal from Lee Naylor to
salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Sunday.
Celtic could ha
<< Blackhawks activate RW Sharp
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right
wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve.
Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt
in a February 14 game against San Jose a
<< BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
<< Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash
today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
showdown at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con
Not So Hard: Syracuse advances to Sweet 16 >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins
added 17, as Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a
78-67 victory over Arizona State at American Airlines Arena.
Rick Jackson chipped
Top-seeded Huskies cruise into second round >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles piled up 32 points and 11
rebounds, leading the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to a 104-65 rout over the
16th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charles
Guerrero's double helps Hamburg keep pace >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Paolo Guerrero scored two goals
in a four-minute span in the second half to lead Hamburg to a 2-1 win over
Schalke at Veltins Arena on Sunday.
Guerrero didn't crack the scoreboard until th
Biron, Flyers cool off Pens >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Biron made 27 saves to lead the
Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in an
important Eastern Conference playoff race matchup at the Igloo.
Simon Gagne and S
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.
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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