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07/03/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for June.
Over six starts, Hernandez went 3-0 with an 0.94 earned run average, allowing only four earned runs with 35 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings. That was the lowest ERA of all major league arms with at least 20 innings pitched.
Highlighting the month was a two-hit shutout of San Diego on June 16. The impressive outing marked his sixth career complete game, third career blanking and came in the midst of 20 consecutive scoreless frames from June 10-21.
The 23-year-old native of Venezuela is 8-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 16 starts this season. His 107 strikeouts ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Others receiving consideration were Twins closer Joe Nathan (0.00 ERA, 11 2/3 IP, 11 saves, 18 SO), Boston's Josh Beckett (4-1, 1.51 ERA, 35 2/3 IP, 1 CG, 35 SO) and Texas' Kevin Millwood (4-1, 1.30 ERA, 34 2/3 IP, 27 SO).
<< Braves' Johnson hits DL with wrist tendinitis
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have placed second
baseman Kelly Johnson on the 15-day disabled with right wrist tendinitis.
Johnson has struggled thus far in 2009, hitting just .214 with five home runs,
20 runs b
<< Federer, Roddick land in Wimbledon final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer
and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick will do battle in Sunday's men's final at
Wimbledon. The iconic Federer will appear in a men's record seventh straight
Wimbled
<< Primus gets new deal from Pompey
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Linvoy Primus will extend his
nine-year association with Portsmouth after agreeing to a new 12-month
contract.
The 35-year-old defender has been at Fratton Park since 2000 and has
<< Pens bring back Fedotenko for one more year
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward
Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year contract on Friday.
The 30-year-old tallied 16 times with 39 points in 65 regular-season games for
Pittsburgh last season a
Lincecum voted NL Pitcher of the Month for June >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum
was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June, the league
announced on Friday.
Lincecum posted a 4-1 mark with a 1.48 ERA during the month,
Braves P Hanson named NL Rookie of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson was named
National League Rookie of the Month for June on Friday.
The right-hander was a perfect 4-0 to go along with a 2.48 earned run average
in five starts during the m
Pujols honored as NL Player of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert
Pujols has been named the National League Player of the Month for June.
A seven-time All-Star, Pujols batted .320 with a league-leading 14 homers and
35 RBI duri
O's Reimold selected as AL's top rookie for June >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Nolan
Reimold has been selected as the American League Rookie of the Month for June.
The 25-year-old hit .320 for the month, leading all Junior Circuit rookies
with
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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