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05/05/2010 -
WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) -Danny Ainge says he regrets tossing a towel in the air to distract a Cavaliers player during a free throw attempt.
The Celtics GM told WEEI-AM in Boston he behaved unprofessionally during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland.
Ainge threw a towel in the air when Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson was at the line in the third quarter.
Boston led by 23 points at the time.
Hickson made the free throw.
The Celtics went on to win 104-86 to tie the best-of-seven series at one game apiece. Ainge says that he regrets causing a distraction from the team's big win.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Motherwell rallies for draw in 12-goal thriller
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lucas Jutkiewicz scored in stoppage
time to cap a four-goal rally in the final 23 minutes of a thrilling 6-6 draw
with Hibernian at Fir Park Stadium on Wednesday, keeping the Steelman in
fourth
<< Keselowski looking for third win in a row
Darlington, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, May
7. Race: Royal Purple 200. Site: Darlington Raceway. Track: 1.366-mile oval.
Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 147. Miles: 200.8. 2009 winner: Matt
Kenseth. Televisi
<< Who will tame Darlington this time?
Darlington, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday,
May 8. Race: Showtime Southern 500. Site: Darlington Raceway. Track: 1.366-
mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 367. Miles: 501. 2009 winner:
Mark Martin. Tel
<< Hofstra names Cassara new hoops coach
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hofstra University named Mo Cassara head
coach of the men's basketball team on Wednesday, just two days after Tim Welsh
resigned following his DWI arrest.
Cassara spent the last four years as an assista
A's silence Rangers, take rubber match >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daric Barton finished 2-for-3 with an RBI as
Oakland topped Texas, 4-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Eric Patterson homered while Ryan Sweeney and Kevin Kouzmanoff also drove in
runs for the A
Real keeps pace behind Ronaldo's hat trick >>
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo tallied his first hat
trick for Real Madrid on Wednesday, propelling the club to a 4-1 win at
Mallorca that keeps them within one point of leaders Barcelona.
Real fell behind i
Pettitte forced to exit early against O's >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte
left Wednesday's 7-5 win over Baltimore after five innings because of
stiffness in his pitching arm.
Pettitte was sent to New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Northern Arizona's Jones withdraws from NBA Draft >>
Flagstaff, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northern Arizona guard Cameron Jones has
withdrawn his name from consideration for next month's NBA Draft and will
return to school for his senior season.
Jones didn't hire an agent and had unti
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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