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02/12/2012 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.
The Penguins bounced back from the two quickest goals by one player in Tampa Bay history to improve to 2-0 on a three-game homestand.
Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang had one goal and two assists apiece in the win and Brent Johnson made 21 saves. James Neal had three assists.
Malkin shot on an empty net as time expired and missed a hat trick by inches as the puck hit off the post.
Steve Downie scored two goals 11 seconds apart in the first period to set a franchise record and give the Lightning a 2-0 lead, but they never found the back of the net again in their fourth loss in six games.
Mathieu Garon gave up four goals on 41 shots and Teddy Purcell had two assists for Tampa Bay.
Johnson got a piece of Downie's first goal, on a slap shot from above the left circle, but it knuckled through him for a 1-0 Lightning lead 9:58 into the game.
Seconds later, Purcell slid the puck through the crease at the end of a 3-on-2 rush and Downie was there to hammer it in.
Malkin scored his first goal on a power play 6:06 later on a one-timer to get the Penguins on the board. They tied it just 56 seconds into the middle period when Kunitz split four defenders and beat Garon five-hole after carrying the puck into the zone himself.
Letang had the eventual game-winner at 4:28 of the second, beating Garon from the slot, and Malkin made it 4-2 midway through the period when he hustled to the left side of the net for a seeing-eye pass from Kunitz that set him up perfectly.
Game Notes
Jason Wiemer held the previous Tampa Bay record for fastest two goals at 16 seconds in a game against New Jersey on October 3, 1997. The team record for time between goals is nine seconds, also against New Jersey on January 9, 2004...The teams split two prior meetings this season in Tampa Bay. They will meet again on February 25 in Pittsburgh...The Lightning have lost three in a row at Pittsburgh.
<< Heat breeze past Hawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored all 21 of his points in a
lopsided first half, and the Miami Heat cruised past the Atlanta Hawks,
107-87, in a Southeast Division showdown at Philips Arena.
LeBron James chipped i
<< Malkin scored twice as Pens double up Lightning
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp twice and the
Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.
The Penguins bounced back from the two quickest goals b
<< Blues shut out Sharks, extend home points streak
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves to record his
sixth shutout of the season and 22nd of his career as the St. Louis Blues kept
rolling at home with a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at Scottrade Center.
Alex
<< Prahalis helps Ohio State outlast Purdue
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 26 points, including
a clutch three-pointer in the final minute to help No. 10 Ohio State fend off
No. 16 Purdue, 80-71, in a Big 10 clash.
Amber Stokes and Ashley Adams chipped in
Jazz top Grizzlies to snap 3-game slide >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Hayward scored 23 points and handed out
five assists, and the Utah Jazz snapped a three-game slide with a 98-88
victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
Al Jefferson chipped in 21 points a
Warriors edge Rockets behind Ellis' 33 >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monta Ellis poured in 33 points and the Golden
State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak to the Houston Rockets with
a 106-97 win on Sunday.
The Warriors got 15 points and 13 rebounds from David Lee a
The Kentucky Derby winner will not come from the Mutuel Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since the Kentucky Derby Future Wager began in 1999, the
mutuel field has been the correct bet in six of the 13 Pool 1 wagers,
including three of the last four years. However, half of those winners paid
$6.00
Klieman takes over North Dakota State's defense >>
Fargo, ND (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FCS national champion North Dakota State has
promoted defensive backs coach Chris Klieman to defensive coordinator.
He replaces Scottie Hazelton, who has been hired as linebackers coach at
Southern California.
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.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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