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08/17/2010 -
EDEN PRAIRIE (AP) -Brett Favre is back in Minnesota, stirring hope among Vikings fans that he may be ready to play this season.
A private jet trimmed in the Vikings' purple and gold carrying the 40-year-old quarterback landed at an airport outside Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon. Local TV stations carried Favre's arrival live.
Favre's website posted a message earlier saying ``stay tuned for breaking news from the Minnesota Vikings today on Brett Favre's possible return.'' There's still no official word from the team.
Favre will turn 41 in October and has flirted with retirement for years while playing for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and now the Vikings. He threw 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season to help Minnesota reach the NFC title game.
He missed training camp with an ankle injury.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Report: Favre on his way to Minnesota
Hattiesburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A contingent of Minnesota Vikings' players
sent to Brett Favre's home in Mississippi late Monday have apparently
convinced the indecisive quarterback to at least make a trip to the Twin
Cities
<< Philly's Rodriguez named WPS Player of the Week
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Independence and United States
forward Amy Rodriguez was named Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the
Week for Week 18 on Tuesday.
Rodriguez led the expansion Independence to the brin
<< Phillies activate Utley, designate Dobbs
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies activated second
baseman Chase Utley from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday and designated
infielder Greg Dobbs for assignment.
The 31-year-old Utley has been on the shelf
<< Revolution, Fire to renew Eastern rivalry at Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution travel to Chicago
to renew their Major League Soccer Eastern Conference rivalry with the Fire at
Toyota Park on Wednesday night.
Both clubs are tied with 21 points and are currentl
Berdych, Fish post wins in Cincy >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych reached the
third round, while hot American Mardy Fish posted an opening-round victory
Tuesday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a
U.S. Open S
Braves activate Prado from disabled list >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have activated infielder
Martin Prado from the 15-day disabled list.
Prado is penciled into Tuesday's lineup hitting third and playing at third
base after spending the season playing
France bans Anelka for 18 matches >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World Cup rebel Nicolas Anelka was banned for
18 matches by the French Football Federation on Tuesday following his conduct
at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Chelsea striker was sent home from th
Pedroia returns from broken foot >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia
was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, paving the way for his
return to the lineup for the first time since June 25.
Pedroia had missed almost
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.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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