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08/22/2007 - Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Race leader Mike Skinner" is a phrase used quite often this season. The driver of the No.5 Toyota truck has led at least one lap in the last 19 races dating back to the Atlanta Motor Speedway in October 2006.
Skinner led 102 laps in the last Craftsman Truck Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway pushing him over the 1,000-miles led mark in 2007. It is the fifth time in the series the feat has been accomplished and the second time for Skinner, who did it in 1996. Skinner finished third in 1996 and is determined to finish a couple of positions higher this season.
Skinner has led the most laps in seven races this year while leading the series in points (2,521), winnings ($526,850), wins (4), poles (8), top-fives (12) and top-10s (14). He also leads Ron Hornaday Jr. by 82 points.
Wednesday's race will present a different challenge than usual at the 0.533- mile, high-banked, Bristol Motor Speedway short track. In addition to the traditional problems that BMS entails there is the added feature of a newly paved race track.
Teams tested there in July, but it will still be the first NASCAR race on the track since it was repaved.
"They did a nice job, the track looks different, but it's really the same Bristol - and that's a good thing," said Ted Musgrave's crew chief Rick Gay Jr.
In the test, Travis Kvapil was quickest at 119.626 m.p.h., while Musgrave was second fastest.
"The team did a great job working through our test plan," Kvapil said. "They hit on some things towards the end of the day that found us some more speed."
Kvapil (-236) sits third in the championship after winning the last race at Nashville.
"It was pretty awesome," said Kvapil in the post-race press conference. "It took our K&N Ford half the race to get the track position and the right adjustment in it. This is the truck we won with in Michigan and finished second in Kentucky with."
It was Kvapil's ninth consecutive top-10 and third win of the season. If Skinner and Hornaday Jr. weren't having such great seasons, Kvapil would be right in the middle of the battle, instead of just outside of it, looking in.
The good news, however, is there are still 10 races left and if Kvapil can keep up his current pace he can challenge Skinner and Hornaday Jr. for the championship.
<< Ferguson joins Vikings
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran receiver Robert Ferguson agreed to
terms with the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.
Ferguson, who was cut by Green Bay last Friday, was drafted in the second
round by the Packers in 2001 and had p
<< Rain wipes out Day 1 at Forest Hills
Forest Hills, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four opening-round matches were postponed
because of rain Tuesday at the $74,800 Forest Hills Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Classic.
Second-seeded American Meilen Tu was scheduled to meet Italian Roberta V
<< Fire sign Colombian defender Conde
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago signed Colombian international
defender Wilman Conde, who previously played under Fire coach Juan Carlos
Osorio, on Monday.
Conde, 24, played for Osorio with Millonarios in Colombia. Co
<< Hawks exercise options on Marvin and Shelden Williams
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks exercised contract options
for the 2008-09 season on forward Marvin Williams and forward/center Shelden
Williams.
Marvin Williams averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 64 con
Red Bulls refuel for key clash at United >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coach Bruce Arena is worried if New York
will have enough "gas back in the tank" for Wednesday's key showdown at D.C.
United.
New York won one of the best games in Major League Soccer history on Saturd
Braves place James on DL; recall Reyes >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have placed starting
pitcher Chuck James on the 15-day disabled list and replaced him in the
rotation with Jo-Jo Reyes for Tuesday night's game against the Reds.
James is suf
Cubs reinstate Floyd, activate Blanco >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated outfielder
Cliff Floyd from the restricted list and activated catcher Henry Blanco from
the 60-day disabled list on Tuesday.
Floyd was originally placed on the bereavemen
Fire try to stay hot against Wizards >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco has
needed just three games to turn Chicago into a playoff contender.
Since joining Chicago in July, he has one goal and two assists during a three-
game unbeaten st
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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