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Lindell re-ups with Bills

Football Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills re-signed kicker Rian Lindell to a multi-year contract extension on Tuesday.

Lindell's 2011 season was cut short by a shoulder injury suffered against the New York Jets in Week 9. He converted 13-of-15 field goal tries and was a perfect 25-for-25 on extra points in eight games, but was hurt making a tackle.

Prior to landing on injured reserve, the 35-year-old had never missed a game since joining the Bills in 2003.

Lindell has made 262 of his 324 (80.9 percent) career field goal attempts.


<< Pekka a Rinne-stone Cowboy in Nashville
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Those not convinced that the Nashville Predators are in it to win long term need to look no further than the massive contract that general manager David Poile dished out to goaltender Pekka Rinne back in Nove

<< Southern Illinois gets new opponent
Carbondale, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southern Illinois University football team will play at Miami University on Sept. 8 in the first meeting between the programs. The game replaces canceled meetings for both schools against Missouri, which

<< Sevilla names Michel new coach
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sevilla named former Real Madrid and Spain midfielder Michel its new manager Tuesday, one day after Marcelino was fired. Michel, 48, spent almost his entire club career with Real Madrid, playing for the S

<< Santana to replace Luxemburgo at Flamengo
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Flamengo announced Tuesday that it has hired Joel Santana to replace Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who was relieved of his managerial duties last week due to a reportedly rocky relationship with star pl

<< Bears bring in Jeremy Bates to work with QBs
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears on Tuesday reached an agreement with Jeremy Bates to become the team's quarterbacks coach. Bates is familiar with Chicago starter Jay Cutler, having worked with him for three seasons

'Melo sidelined for at least a week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony will likely be sidelined for at least a week because of the strained right groin he sustained during Monday's game against Utah. Anthony was hurt during the first quar

Oilers' Nugent-Hopkins out with sprained shoulder >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edmonton Oilers rookie forward Ryan Nugent- Hopkins will be sidelined 7-to-10 days with a sprained shoulder. The 18-year-old recently returned to the lineup after missing a month with a left shoulder inju

Potent Leafs determined to end playoff drought >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What has happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the post-lockout era hardly seems possible for the NHL's most valuable franchise. But, the Leafs, who were valued at $521 million by Forbes back in November,

Saint Francis announces signing class >>
Loretto, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saint Francis University announced Tuesday that eight high school players have signed national letters of intent to join its football program. Red Flash coach Chris Villarrial finalized the signing class after

Stoke's Huth loses appeal of red card >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City defender Robert Huth had his red card appeal dismissed Tuesday by the English Football Association, meaning he will serve a three-match ban. Huth was sent off before halftime Saturday

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
  • 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.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    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.