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Columbus to host 2013 NHL All-Star game

Hockey Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus and the Blue Jackets will host the NHL's All-Star festivities in 2013, the league announced Saturday.

The showcase, which includes the skills competition and All-Star game, will take place on the weekend of January 26-27.

"We're looking forward to bringing our All-Star celebration to Columbus," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "The Blue Jackets did a great job of hosting the NHL Draft in 2007, and I have no doubt they will raise the bar even higher when they welcome our All-Star celebration next January."

The All-Star festivities have never taken place in Columbus. The Blue Jackets started competing in the NHL in 2000.


<< Cavs and Pack square off Raleigh
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams continuing to jockey for position within the ACC meet in Raleigh tonight, as the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers take on the NC State Wolfpack. Virginia is an impressive 16-3 this season, but the team

<< No.2 Tigers tangle with Red Raiders
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Missouri Tigers set their sights on getting back on track, as they welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to Columbia this afternoon, for a Big 12 matchup at Mizzou Arena. Frank Haith's Tigers ar

<< Sixth-ranked Bears welcome Longhorns to Waco
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue their quest towards the top spot in the Big 12, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Waco for a conference showdown at the Ferrell Center. Scott Drew's Bears are 5-2 in-con

<< Blue Devils and Red Storm collide in Durham
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the 14th straight season, the Duke Blue Devils and St. John's Red Storm will take time out of their conference slates to meet on the hardwood. The eighth-ranked Blue Devils are 5-1 in ACC play this season. T

<< No.3 Orange take on Mountaineers at Carrier Dome
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Syracuse Orange return home to defend their top spot in the conference standings, as they welcome in the West Virginia Mountaineers for a Big East showdown at the Carrier Dome. Jim Boeheim's O

Kaman could be a keeper elsewhere >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You can forget about blowing the whistle on ageism in sports. After all, it's not only accepted it's expected. If you were wondering why the New Orleans Hornets are actively trying to trade center Chris

Davis moves Rangers closer to the top >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Steven Davis propelled Rangers to a 4-0 win over Hibernian at the Ibrox Stadium on Saturday, moving the club to within a point of leaders Celtic. Davis scored the lo

Notre Dame picks up 18th straight victory >>
Queens, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skylar Diggins had 24 points, six assists and three blocks, as the second-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish picked up their 18th straight victory with a 71-56 decision over the St. John's Red Storm. Devereau

Kagawa fires Dortmund past Hoffenheim >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shinji Kagawa netted a pair of goals to lead Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday at Signal- Iduna-Park, extending Dortmund's unbeaten run to 13 games. Goals from Kagawa and Ke

Duke hangs on to defeat St. John's >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mason Plumlee finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds, and No. 8 Duke held on for an 83-76 victory over St. John's on Saturday. Ryan Kelly scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards for the Blue D

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.