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09/06/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers named Dennis Dixon as the team's starting quarterback in the wake of Ben Roethlisberger's suspension and Byron Leftwich's knee injury.
The choice was between either Dixon or longtime backup Charlie Batch, and head coach Mike Tomlin decided Dixon would be the better choice.
"Dennis has had a very productive preseason and training camp," Tomlin said. "He wedged himself into a battle and got some first-team reps in some preseason games. Largely, we've been very impressed with how he's handling himself and the situation."
Dixon made his first career start last season against the Ravens -- when Roethlisberger was out with a concussion and Batch with a broken wrist -- and Dixon completed 12-of-26 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The former Oregon quarterback and dual-threat lost the game in overtime, 20-17.
"It's an honor. It's every quarterback's dream to get an opportunity to start in the National Football League," Dixon said. "My number's called now, so I'm going to have fun with it. I'm happy, but then again there's a lot of work to be done. I just want to be even-keeled and put my team in the best situation."
Roethlisberger is suspended for the team's first four games, so Dixon could get an extended look at the position. Leftwich was set to be the starter, but sprained a knee ligament in the team's last preseason game.
<< Bucs claim RB Blount, release WR Brown
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have claimed running
back LaGarrette Blount off waivers from the Tennessee Titans and released
veteran wide receiver Reggie Brown.
Blount was let go Sunday by the Titans afte
<< Soto's homer in eighth lifts Cubs past Astros
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovany Soto's two-out homer in the eighth
proved to be the difference, as the Chicago Cubs opened a three-game series
against the Houston Astros with a 5-4 victory at Wrigley Field.
Soto launched his
<< Kubel, Thome homer to help Twins edge Royals
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kubel and Jim Thome both homered in
the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Minnesota Twins clipped Kansas City,
5-4, in the opener of a three-game series at Target Field.
Thome, who now has 585
<< Roberts, Orioles top Yanks to start series in Bronx
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Roberts' seventh inning single drove in the
winning run as Baltimore downed New York, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game
set.
Roberts finished 3-for-5 with two RBI while Matt Wieters knocked in a run and
Glenn, Tiger-Cats beat Argonauts, win fourth straight >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Glenn went 27-for-33 with 313 yards, one
touchdown and one interception as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats downed the Toronto
Argonauts, 28-13.
Dave Stala caught seven passes for 90 yards and a score while
Molina's slam sends St.Louis past Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yadier Molina's second career grand slam
capped a six-run eighth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 win
over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game set.
Albert Pujols drove in a
Anderson sensational as Oakland slows down Seattle >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coco Crisp drove in two runs and Brett Anderson
spun a gem on the mound, as the Oakland Athletics beat Seattle, 6-2, in the
opener of a three-game series.
Anderson (4-6) scattered a run on four hits and d
Padres scratch Latos due to illness >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just hours prior to his scheduled start
against the Dodgers, the San Diego Padres scratched pitcher Mat Latos due to
an undisclosed illness.
Latos has been the team's most consistent starter this season, goi
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.
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