Football Betting

Former MLBer Clyburn shot and killed

Baseball Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Lancaster, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A former major league outfielder died after being shot at his home and an acquaintance has turned himself in to police.

Danny Clyburn Jr. was found dead in the front yard of his home by police after being shot around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a Rock Hill, South Carolina newspaper.

The Herald reported that witnesses said a man had been arguing with Clyburn moments before the former outfielder was shot.

Derrick Lamont Mcilwain, 36, of Lancaster, was arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime after turning himself in, the paper said.

Clyburn, 37, played in 41 games over three major league seasons for Baltimore and Tampa Bay between 1997-99. He batted .211 with four homers and eight runs batted in.


<< Dunfermline salvages home point against Killie
Dunfermline, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dunfermline battled back after surrendering the opening goal Tuesday night at East End Park as the Pars played to a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock. James Fowler piled on the misery for last-pla

<< Marist to play five home games in 2012
Poughkeepsie, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Marist football team will play five home games as part of an 11-game schedule announced on Tuesday. The Red Foxes are coming off a 4-7 season under veteran head coach Jim Parady. Marist will open its

<< Prosecutors: Sandusky should stay inside
Harrisburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prosecutors want the conditions of Jerry Sandusky's bail to be modified to prevent the former Penn State assistant coach from leaving the walls of his house unless it is to receive medical treatme

<< Western Illinois tabs Ward as defensive coordinator
Macomb, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ward has been named Western Illinois' new defensive coordinator, head football coach Mark Hendrickson announced Tuesday. Ward was Drake University's defensive coordinator last season when the Bulldogs pos

<< In the FCS Huddle: The curious case of App State
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's not as if DeAndre Presley's college career was only seven games long. But that's the experience he must build off as he tries to build an NFL career. There are 22 players from FCS programs who have be

Dodgers extend ace Kershaw for 2 years >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided arbitration with All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday, agreeing to a two-year contract with their ace lefty. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ke

VMI to visit Navy, play six at home >>
Lexington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - VMI football will visit the Naval Academy for the first time in nine seasons and play six home games at part of a 2012 schedule announced on Tuesday. The home schedule is the largest since the Keydets last pl

Portland State to face Washington, host five games >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland State's football team will travel to the University of Washington and play five home games as part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday. The Vikings will face a Pac-12 school for the eighth time since

Owen Nolan announces retirement >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former San Jose captain Owen Nolan officially announced his retirement on Tuesday. Nolan disclosed his decision during a press conference at HP Pavilion, the home of the Sharks, the team for which he spen

Wichita's Perez named MISL Player of Week >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wichita Wings midfielder Bryan Perez was named the Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 14. Perez scored the match-winning goal in overtime to cap a five-point night, as Wichita

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.