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03/13/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Kostitsyn scored a pair of goals and Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots, as Montreal edged Boston, 3-2, at Bell Centre.
Andrei Markov netted the other goal for the Canadiens, who won their fifth straight game and pulled into a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia.
Halak posted his 22nd victory of the season and has won each of his last four starts.
Blake Wheeler and Milan Lucic tallied for the Bruins, losers in three of their last four. Tuukka Rask allowed three goals on 27 shots in defeat.
The Habs went up 3-1 at 1:41 of the third period, when a dump-in by Hal Gill to the right of the Bruins' net was misplayed in front by both Rask and a Boston defenseman. Kostitsyn, who was gliding through the slot, shoveled the loose puck into the open net.
Lucic did bring the Bruins back within a goal on a screen shot from the low slot at 11:46 after circling from the right wing into the slot, but the visitors did not solve Halak further.
Markov put the Canadiens on the board when his floater from the point on a power play hit a Bruin in the slot and changed direction at 6:02.
Montreal went up 2-0 with 40 seconds left in the period, as Markov skated behind the net and dished in front for a successful tip by Kostitsyn.
Wheeler cut Boston's deficit in half 1:12 into the second period, but Halak halted the other four Bruins shots in the frame to keep it a one-goal contest.
Game Notes
Montreal won five of the six meetings this season...The Canadiens play in Manhattan against the Rangers on Tuesday, and the Bruins travel to New Jersey on Monday.
<< Blues keep rolling, top Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy McDonald had a goal and a pair of
assists, and Chris Mason stopped 24 shots, as the surging St. Louis Blues
topped Columbus, 5-1, at Nationwide Arena.
Alexander Steen, B.J. Crombeen, David
<< Smith's 11 helpers paced Atlanta over Detroit
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson finished with 26 points, as the
Atlanta Hawks used an efficient offensive performance to take a 112-99 victory
over the Detroit Pistons.
Josh Smith added 18 points and a career-high 11 assis
<< Rafalski's OT tally lifts Detroit over Buffalo
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Rafalski's power-play goal 31 seconds
into overtime gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Buffalo at Joe Louis Arena.
Buffalo's Tyler Myers was called for delay of game late in regulation and the
penalty carr
<< Bryzgalov, Coyotes shut out Hurricanes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves to record his NHL-
leading eighth shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes won their fourth straight game
with a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Lee Stempniak and Martin Hanzal each
Kessel helps Leafs edge Edmonton >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Kessel scored two goals and dished out an
assist, as the Toronto Maple Leafs outlasted the Edmonton Oilers, 6-4, in a
matchup between two teams in the basement in the NHL standings.
Tyler Bozak had a
Arkansas-Pine Bluff wins SWAC title for first NCAA bid >>
Bossier City, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tavaris Washington had 14 points and five
rebounds as the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions took home the Southwestern
Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 50-38 win over Texas Southern,
giving
Knicks pound Dallas to snap Mavs' 13-game win streak >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points and
the New York Knicks were an efficient 16-of-30 from beyond the arc, helping
them snap Dallas' 13-game winning streak with a resounding 128-94 victory at
America
Smith leads Nuggets' fourth-quarter charge in win over Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.R. Smith scored 16 of his 30 points in the
fourth quarter, as the Denver Nuggets used a huge final period to defeat the
Memphis Grizzlies, 125-108.
Smith made 11-of-16 field goals, including a 7-for-10
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.
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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