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07/21/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Clarke MacArthur is reportedly a free agent after the Atlanta Thrashers walked away from an arbitrator's decision on Wednesday.
According to TSN of Canada, the 25-year-old, a restricted free agent, was awarded a $2.4 million deal by an arbitrator, but Atlanta decided to walk away from the ruling -- an action that is well within an organization's rights but is a rare occurrence.
Boston was one of the first franchises to walk away from an arbitrator's decision when it did so in 1999 for then-forward Dmitri Khristich. Most recently, Nikolai Zherdev wound up on the wrong end of the New York Rangers' declining an arbitrator's decision in 2009 and the Ukraine-born winger played last season in Russia.
MacArthur split last season with Buffalo and Atlanta, coming over from the Thrashers on a trade-deadline deal March 3. He compiled 16 goals and 35 points in 81 games a season ago.
In four NHL seasons, the Alberta native has racked up 44 goals and 88 points in 208 career contests.
<< Thunder sign G Ivey
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed
free agent guard Royal Ivey.
As per team policy, no details of the deal were announced.
The 28-year-old Ivey split last season between Philadelphia and Milw
<< Astros add Figueroa among host of moves
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have claimed pitcher Nelson
Figueroa off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
The team also claimed infielder Anderson Hernandez off waivers from the
Cleveland Indians. To make r
<< Michaels lifts Astros over Cubs in 12 innings
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Michaels delivered a tie-breaking, two-
run, pinch-hit double and scored in the 12th inning to lift Houston over
the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Brandon Lyon (6-4)
<< Chivas USA acquires Zizzo through lottery
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sal Zizzo, a 23-year-old U.S. youth
international, is now a member of Chivas USA following a weighted lottery
which took place on Wednesday.
The Goats had the third best chance (16.28 percent)
CFL Previews - July 22-24 - Week Four >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (1-2) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (2-1)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Ranked fifth in the most recent power rankings in the CFL, the
Montreal Alouettes
Report: Georgia WR Green under investigation >>
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green is the
latest target of an NCAA investigation revolving around a Miami party hosted
by sports agents.
According to TMZ, Green allegedly attended a party at the Fontai
Medalist Kang escapes with narrow victory at U.S. Girls' Junior >>
Village of Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke play medalist Danielle Kang
squeezed past 17-year-old Colombian Alejandra Cangrejo, 1-up, in the first
round of match play Wednesday at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
Kang, of Tho
Pirates C Doumit leaves Wednesday's game >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit left
Wednesday's game against Milwaukee after feeling light-headed and nauseous
following a first inning collision at home plate.
The Brewers loaded the bases for
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.
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