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09/04/2010 - Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fullback Luke Lawton, center Chris Morris and defensive end Jay Richardson were among the prominent players released by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to the NFL-mandated maximum of 53 players.
Lawton appeared in 29 games as a member of the Raiders over the past two seasons, catching 13 passes and serving as a blocker for running backs Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and ex-Raider Justin Fargas, but had fallen behind Marcel Reese on the depth chart and was set to begin the year serving a suspension related to the use of a banned substance.
Morris appeared in 47 games with Oakland from 2006-09, making 10 starts last season, but was victimized by enhanced depth among Raiders offensive linemen.
Richardson was placed on the chopping block after appearing in all 48 of the Raiders' games over the past three seasons. A 2007 fifth-round pick out of Ohio State, Richardson started 22 games at end over his first two campaigns but was used exclusively as a backup last season.
Also released were wide receiver Shaun Bodiford, safety Jerome Boyd, quarterback Colt Brennan, safety Stevie Brown, defensive tackle Chris Cooper, defensive end Alex Daniels, defensive end Greyson Gunheim, defensive end Kellen Heard, defensive tackle William Joseph, linebacker David Nixon, linebacker Slade Norris, tight end John Owens, guard Alex Parsons, cornerback Joe Porter, guard Brandon Rodd, cornerback Joey Thomas, fullback Manase Tonga, punter Swayze Waters and wide receiver Todd Watkins.
The Raiders will begin the regular season next Sunday, when they travel to meet the Tennessee Titans.
<< Newton accounts for 5 TDs in Auburn's opening rout
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Junior quarterback Cameron Newton was impressive
in his Auburn debut, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more,
as the 22nd-ranked Tigers dominated Arkansas State, 52-26, in the season
opener
<< CB Vasher, WR Reed among Chargers' final cuts
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers pared their roster to
the 53-player maximum on Saturday, releasing 23 players as part of their "cut-
down day" moves.
Excised were wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu, tackle Brady Bond, runni
<< FCD extends unbeaten run to 13 with win over Toronto
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas earned a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC
in Major League Soccer action at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night.
Jeff Cunningham's eighth goal of the season and 129th of his MLS career were
enough to propel
<< Alabama starts BCS title defense with rout of San Jose State
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eddie Lacy and Trent Richardson each rushed
for a pair of touchdowns, and top-ranked Alabama began defense of its BCS
national title with a 48-3 win over San Jose State.
Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron
Irvin, Tyler among Panthers' final cuts >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive linemen Corvey Irvin and Tank Tyler
were among the notables released by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, as the
team reduced its roster to the 53-player maximum
Irvin, a third-round draft choice o
Lions Release CB Bly, 19 more >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cornerback Dre' Bly was among the players
released by the Detroit Lions on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the
53-player NFL maximum.
Bly, an 11-year NFL veteran who returned to Detroit in the offs
Lee's eighth-inning HR pushes Astros past D'Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee hit the game-winning three-run home
run in the eighth inning and drove in four to lead Houston to a 6-5 come-from-
behind win over Arizona in the middle meeting of a three-game series.
Lee finished
Cummings brace leads Rapids past Goats >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rapids' striker Omar Cummings
scored two goals and helped set up another to lead his team to a 3-0 win over
Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night.
After the two teams b
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.
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