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08/18/2010 -
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -Brett Favre says the strong chance of playing in another Super Bowl brought him back to the NFL - again.
Favre was back on the field with the Vikings on Wednesday. The three-time MVP started his second season in Minnesota wearing a helmet, shoulder pads and red quarterback's jersey as he worked out with his teammates on their practice field.
He said afterward ``this is a very good football team.'' Favre said the chances of making the Super Bowl with Minnesota ``are much greater than other places.''
After staying away from training camp, Favre was practicing less than 24 hours after the teams sent three of his closest friends to Mississippi to bring him back following another summer of indecision.
Favre admitted ``there is nothing on me that's 100 percent, there wasn't anything that was 100 percent last year or the year before.'' But he believes ankle surgery ``made me a little better.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Celtic signs Izaguirre from Honduran club
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Honduras World Cup defender Emilio
Izaguirre has completed his move to Celtic.
The 24-year-old left back has joined the Hoops from Honduran club Motagua
after impressing Celtic boss Neil Len
<< Blackpool completes Keinan signing
Blackpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackpool have completed the protracted
signing of defender Dekel Keinan on a free transfer.
The 25-year-old Israel international was first linked with the Seasiders at
the beginning of the summer
<< Ankle problem sidelines Kolarov
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City could be without
Aleksandar Kolarov for a number of weeks after revealing the full back has an
ankle ligament injury.
The Serbian made his debut in Saturday's season opening
<< Bears agree to terms with QB Gutierrez, DB Webster
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears agreed to terms with
quarterback Matt Gutierrez and defensive back Aaron Webster on Wednesday.
Gutierrez received a one-year contract, while Webster got a two-year deal.
Financial
Fulham inks Dembele from AZ Alkmaar >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham have completed the signing of
Belgium international forward Moussa Dembele for an undisclosed fee from Dutch
club AZ Alkmaar.
The 23-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Craven Cot
Walters joins Stoke City from Ipswich >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have tied up the signing
of versatile Ipswich Town forward Jonathan Walters for a fee that could
eventually exceed $4.5 million.
The 26-year-old has signed a four-year contract
Leading fillies do battle in Alabama >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devil May Care and Blind Luck top a
field of six for Saturday's $500,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga for three-
year-old fillies.
The top two fillies are meeting for the first time since last yea
Boateng joins Milan on loan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan have completed the loan signing of
Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng less than a day after he agreed to join
Genoa from English club Portsmouth.
The 23-year-old will spend the whole of next
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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