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03/15/2010 -
NEW YORK (AP) -When it comes to expanding the NCAA men's basketball tournament, coaches are as divided as fans.
The Associated Press talked to about two dozen coaches regarding expansion in recent weeks and they were split between those who like the idea of boosting the number of teams to 96, those who would be OK with a smaller expansion and some coaches who oppose it.
A lot is at stake for coaches when it comes to the NCAA tournament. It's a measuring stick for success, and if their teams don't make it, they can eventually get fired.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Farmers Insurance signs four-year extension for San Diego event
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The PGA Tour announced Monday that
the Farmers Insurance Group has signed a four-year deal to remain as the title
sponsor for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Farmers was the title spo
<< Fire sign pair of draft picks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire signed defenders Kwame Watson-
Siriboe and Steven Kinney, the Major League Soccer club announced on Monday.
"We are pleased to add Kwame and Steven to the Fire family to help us bring a
MLS Cu
<< 49ers sign Carr; trade Hill to Lions
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers have signed
quarterback David Carr and have agreed to trade Shaun Hill to the Detroit
Lions.
Hill spent the past four seasons with San Francisco and will head to Detroi
<< Tseng No. 6 after winning in Australia
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yani Tseng won the Women's Australian Open
on Sunday, but held steady in the sixth position in this week's women's world
rankings.
In fact, the top nine remained unchanged from last week as Lorena Ochoa s
Bogut, Roy take home NBA weekly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut and
Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Brandon Roy were named the Eastern and
Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending
March 1
Zenyatta remains atop poll, Rachel drops >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta extended her
advantage in the latest NTRA Thoroughbred Poll for March 15. The six-year-old
won Saturday's Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita to remain in first-
place.
Arizona, Reynolds agree to multi-year deal >>
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks and third baseman Mark
Reynolds have come to terms on a three-year contract extension. The deal will
reportedly pay him $14.5 million and also includes an $11 million team option
for 201
Beckham's World Cup absence confirmed >>
Turku, Finland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England midfielder David Beckham underwent
successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon on Monday in Finland, and
it was confirmed by Dr. Sakari Orava that he will miss this summer's World Cup
in Sout
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.
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