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06/23/2009 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record - 10-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 36-26, to Montreal in division final. Stadium - Commonwealth Stadium. Capacity - 60,081. Colors - Green, gold, black and white
Despite boasting a winning record last season, the Eskimos finished last in the CFL Western Division standings at 10-8. That mark was still good enough for a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated Winnipeg in the division semifinals before losing out to Montreal in the East finals.
This season brings a different look for the Green and Gold, as Richie Hall takes over the head coaching reigns for Danny Maciocia, who moved into the role of General Manager and Director of Football Operations. Hall brings with him a proven defensive scheme that will surely have Edmonton competing for its first Grey Cup since 2005.
At quarterback, Ricky Ray will once again be in charge of running the Eskimos and he brings experience to the table. In 2008, Ray completed nearly 70 percent of his pass attempts with 26 touchdowns and 17 picks. He also added five scores on the ground in what was a highly successful season. Ray, along with backup Jason Maas, will feel the heat from rookies Jared Zabransky (Boise State) and Lester Ricard (Tulane), both of whom had terrific collegiate careers.
Helping to take some of the pressure off Ray this season will be a backfield with intriguing options. Canadian Calvin McCarty proved he belonged in his first full season in 2008, rushing for 490 yards and four touchdowns and catching 70 passes for 583 yards and another score. He will be accompanied by free agent Jesse Lumsden, who logged 1,797 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with Hamilton. Newcomers Ciatrick Fason and Arkee Whitlock add more depth to this suddenly talented backfield.
Opening holes for those explosive backs shouldn't be a problem, as the Eskimos return a wealth of experience up front. Patrick Kabongo, a West Division All- Star, highlights the group and he will be accompanied by Gord Hinse, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2009 Draft.
While the rest of the offense is talented, it is the receiving corps that makes the attack so dangerous. Kamau Peterson has emerged as one of the more explosive wideouts in the league, having racked up two straight 1,000-yard campaigns and a 101-catch season in 2008. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian in 2008. Veteran Fred Stamps churned out 751 receiving yards and six touchdowns a year ago and he will help fill the void left by the departure of Kelly Campbell (1,223 yards, seven TDs).
On the defensive side, Dario Romero anchors the line and the 300-pound tackle had 30 stops and six sacks in being named a 2008 West Division All-Star. Newcomers Greg Peach and Shaun Richardson have impressed during camp and are a couple of players that could make an immediate impact.
In the middle, Edmonton will need to find a replacement for Shannon Garrett, who retired after a highly successful 14-year career in the CFL. Former Roughrider Maurice Lloyd will help fill the void left by Garrett and he is coming off a 74-tackle, five-sack campaign. Lloyd, though, will be pushed by rookie Mark Restelli, who has caught the coaching staff's attention with his play. Tim St. Pierre, a 2008 CFL Draft pick, has also shown flashes of a breakout sophomore season.
In just his second season with Edmonton, Jason Gross impressed in the secondary and led the Eskimos in fumble recoveries (three) and interceptions (five). Lenny Williams (36 tackles) and Jont Buhl (50 tackles, four INTs) join Gross in what is a sound and experienced secondary.
All-Star kicker Noel Prefontaine, who made 35-of-46 field goals last season, signed a contract extension in the off-season, giving the Eskimos an edge in the kicking game. Chris Ciezki, an Edmonton native, made 24 special team tackles last season, tying for the second most in team history.
The Eskimos are the most successful CFL franchise in the modern era, winning 13 Grey Cup titles, and they have a legitimate shot of adding to that total this season. Edmonton has a good combination of talent and experience, and if the team can avoid injury and get a few breaks, there is no reason to believe it can't get the job done.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: Second
<< Del Potro rolls in Wimbledon opener
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin
del Potro was an easy first-round winner Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The 6-foot-6 del Potro blasted speedy Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2
to set-up a second-rounde
<< Rolling Rockies shoot for another win over Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez goes for a fourth straight winning start as
the Colorado Rockies continue a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim tonight.
Jimenez is 6-6 with a 3.73 earned run average on the season and h
<< Wang gets another try as Yanks battle Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chien-Ming Wang takes another crack at his first win of the
season this evening, when the New York Yankees open a three-game series with
the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Wang has been absolutely miserable in his six sta
<< It's worst vs. first as Nationals host Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A suddenly-thin rotation might mean Boston Red Sox hurler
Brad Penny isn't going anywhere. It doesn't hurt that he has been pitching
well either.
Penny and his current team kick off a three-game set with Washington tonight
Roddick, del Potro reach second round at Big W >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time runner-up Andy Roddick and
fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro were a pair of first-round
winners Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The sixth-seeded Roddick hiccupped in the third set in an othe
2009 CFL Western Preview - British Columbia Lions >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record
- 12-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-18, to Calgary in divison finals. Stadium -
B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver
Last season, had
2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Hamilton Tigercats >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record:
3-15. Playoff Result: None. Stadium - Ivor Wynne Stadium. Capacity - 29,600.
Colors: Black and Gold
The 2008 season was one to forget for the Hamilton Tigerca
2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Montreal Alouettes >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record:
11-7. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-14, to Calgary in Grey Cup Championship.
Stadium - Percival Molson Stadium. Capacity - 20,202. Colors: Red, blue,
silver, white, a
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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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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