Reds, Ludwick complete 1-year deal
Baseball Betting Lines
02/08/2012 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Ryan Ludwick have finalized a one-year contract.
The deal, reported last month but not announced until Wednesday, includes a mutual option for the 2013 season.
The Reds also signed left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. They designated right-hander Carlos Fisher for assignment.
Ludwick, 33, joined his sixth team. The nine-year veteran played his final 38 games for the NL Central-rival Pirates last season after being traded to Pittsburgh from San Diego in July.
He had 13 homers and 75 runs batted in over 139 games last year and is three seasons removed from belting a career-high 37 home runs for the Cardinals in 2008.
Francis, 31, went 6-16 with a 4.82 earned-run average in one season for the Kansas City Royals. He also pitched six seasons for the Colorado Rockies and is 61-66 with a 4.78 ERA in 181 career games. He won a career-high 17 games for the Rockies in 2007.
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arbitrators ruled Wednesday in favor of Emilio Bonifacio against the Miami Marlins. Bonifacio will make $2.2 million next season instead of the $1.95 million salary targeted by the team, according to MLB.
<< Ruler On Ice and Shackleford meet in Donn Handicap
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Triple Crown race winners Ruler On Ice
and Shackleford head a field of 11 older thoroughbreds for Saturday's 1 1/8-
mile Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The two four-year-olds will each be
making
<< Capello walks away from England post
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Football Association confirmed on
Wednesday that Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager.
Capello was critical of the FA in an interview with Italian television when it
was announced that J
<< Super Bowl underdogs cash in again
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Betting the underdog in the Super Bowl is
never a sure thing as evidenced by Green Bay's win and cover as the favorite
in the 2011 contest. However, with the Giants victory as 2.5-point underdogs
last S
<< Good weather means increases at Oaklawn
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not one day of racing has been missed at
Oaklawn Park in 2012 allowing the track to increase daily purses. The track
announced Wednesday that overnight purses are going up $5,000 a day starting
this we
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The appointment of Fabio Capello as manager of England's national team in December 2007 was supposed to be a step in the right direction following the disappointing 18-months that Steve McClaren spent at the hel
Panthers sign long snapper to 4-year deal >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers signed long snapper
J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract on Wednesday.
Jansen, 26, has played all 48 games in his three NFL seasons with the Panthers
and went without a mistake this p
Catania, Roma finish all square in resumed match >>
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The final 25 minutes of Roma's match at
Catania concluded on Wednesday with neither side able to break the 1-1
deadlock they started the day with.
The match was suspended after 65 minutes bec
Wildcat Creek comes in for Hutcheson Stakes >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of six three-year-olds have
been entered for Saturday's $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The
seven-furlong contest is an early prep for next month's $1 million Florida
Derby.
Benschop helps AZ join PSV at the top of the league >>
The Hague, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A hat trick from Charlison Benschop
helped AZ Alkmaar on its way to a 6-0 triumph at Den Haag on Wednesday,
allowing the club to join PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table.
AZ slip
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.
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