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06/04/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution snapped a seven game winless streak in their last Major League Soccer fixture, and they are hoping it is something to build on against the Seattle Sounders FC in their next one.
"This is huge for us," Revs defender Pat Phelan said after his club's 3-2 win over Red Bull New York last weekend. "We're going to look at this as a turning point in our season. We played much better than we have in the past few games. We gave [New York] some soft goals, but on the whole, I think it was a much better performance and its always nice to end a streak like that at home."
New England will be gunning for a positive result on Saturday, because it is its last game before the extended World Cup break.
"You don't want to go on a break with a loss," Phelan said. "It's a tough place to play, although I don't think we've ever lost to Seattle, only two games, but still. They're a team that's struggling, too, a bit like New York was, a bit like we were. They're a dangerous team, but I think it's definitely possible for us to go out there and get a result."
When the Revs travel to Seattle on Saturday, they will be facing a Sounders club that is trying to get out of its own funk. The second-year MLS club has just one win in its last seven league fixtures, including consecutive losses in its last two.
"I think all the boys were fighting real hard but the way that level of the game was allowed to play there was little chances," Sounders FC midfielder Freddie Ljungberg told mlssoccer.com. after his team's most recent setback, a 1-0 loss at Colorado. "It was typical but very difficult and disappointing."
The Sounders, who are currently second-from-the-bottom in the Western table, know they need to start picking up points fast if they want to be in the playoff picture at the end of the season.
"It is never too early to think about our points so far," Sounders coach Sigi Schmidt told mlssoccer.com. "Points are worth the same now as it is in the end. It has been frustrating because I don't think we have walked off the field being an outplayed team. We just have to keep working and keep our belief in ourselves."
Seattle will be without forward Nate Jaqua, midfielder Michael Fucito, and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, while midfielders Osvaldo Alonso and Peter Vagenas are doubtful, all with injuries.
The Revs will be without defender Darrius Barnes, goalkeeper Preston Burpo and forward Taylor Twellman, while goalkeeper Matt Reis is doubtful, and midfielders Nico Colaluca and Mike Videira, forward Kheli Dube, and defender Cory Gibbs are questionable.Defenders Kevin Alston and Emmanuel Osei are expected to be available.
<< Dallas, San Jose hope to enter break on good note
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coach Schellas Hyndman has struggled to produce
wins for FC Dallas this season but, even with two wins after 10 matches, still
has the club in good shape entering its final game before the World Cup break.
Dall
<< Crew aiming to get back in win column at Colorado
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew take their first two-
game winless streak of the 2010 Major League Soccer season into Dick's
Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night where they will take on the Colorado
Rapids.
<< Cleveland recalls P Herrmann, designates P Wright
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have recalled right-
handed pitcher Frank Herrmann from Triple-A Columbus.
Herrmann was 3-0 with a 0.31 earned run average and a pair of saves in 19
relief outings for the Clippe
<< Armour leads Principal Charity Classic
West Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Armour III fired an eight-under-
par 63 on Friday to take the first-round lead of the Principal Charity
Classic.
That score matched the course record at Glen Oaks Country Club, which was
original
Oakland's Anderson lands back on DL >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics placed left-hander Brett
Anderson on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season Friday.
Anderson was previously on the DL from April 25 to May 28 with left elbow
inflam
Italy's Pirlo suffers calf injury >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo injured his calf
in Thursday's friendly against Mexico and could miss the World Cup.
Pirlo could miss up to three weeks with the injury and Italy starts defense of
its World Cup t
Staten moves in front in College Park >>
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - B.J. Staten fired a seven-under 64 on
Friday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of the Melwood
Prince George's County Open.
Staten finished 36 holes at 11-under 131 and is one cl
Another blow for Cleveland: Sizemore out for season after surgery >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady
Sizemore underwent surgery on Friday and will miss the rest of the regular
season.
Sizemore was expected to be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks following the procedu
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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